Published: May 16, 2008 01:35 am            

City, consulting firm to review revised candidate profile

Three members of the Huntsville City Council had a conference call on Thursday afternoon with consultant firm Arcus Public of Harrisburg, Pa., to address concerns regarding a draft of the candidate profile.

A letter was sent to Arcus CEO and representatives on Wednesday, after seven councilmembers met on Tuesday during a regular session to discuss the candidate profile.

The letter informed Arcus of the council’s request for the conference call and provided an outline of concerns.

Mayor J. Turner, Mayor Pro Tem Mac Woodward and councilmember Dalene Zender made up the subcommittee appointed by the council Tuesday night.

The three brought the concerns of council to Arcus executive recruiter Ben Allatt and vice president Scott Reilly during the conference call.

Arcus was hired by the council on April 19 to assist in finding a new city manager.

However, the firm’s performance — specifically regarding the candidate profile document — has not met the expectations of the council.

The candidate profile, according to Turner, is a document that provides potential candidates with an explanation of both the Huntsville community and the position the council is wanting to fill.

During Tuesday night’s session, each councilmember had an opportunity to point out likes, dislikes or changes they noted and all were in agreement that the document, which includes several factual errors, did not satisfy the needs of Huntsville.

Turner said a work session is scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m. at City Hall, where Arcus representatives are expected to address council in an attempt to regain its confidence.

“The subcommittee reviewed the items and concerns in the letter to Arcus during the conference call,” he said. “Each member of council received a copy of the letter and were familiar with the concerns we discussed with Arcus representatives.

“(Arcus representatives) apologized for some of the concerns. They asked to come revisit the council on Tuesday night to regain its confidence.”

Arcus will bring a revised version of the candidate profile to council, and depending on progress made during the meeting, Turner said councilmembers will decide which direction to proceed.

The council will possibly take action on the matter on Tuesday night.

“At this point, it’s up to Arcus to rebuild the confidence of the council,” Turner said. “I think the important thing here is that the other councilmembers and I have an open mind about the situation. I would like to see this process be successful and continue.

“But on the other hand, it takes courage to come forward and say when something is not working. It’s easier to do nothing and hope that things get better. The council is not taking this situation lightly, because finding a city manager is one of the most important decision we will make, collectively as a council.

“If the meeting on Tuesday night is successful, we’ll move forward. If it is not successful, we will begin considering all of our options.”

The work session will be followed by a regular session Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

Councilmembers-elect Lanny Ray and Charles Forbus will be sworn into office as the May 10 election votes are canvassed, replacing councilmembers Jack Choate and Mickey Evans.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.