March 28, 2024

Council selects firms for city administrator replacement search

The field has been narrowed in the search for a consulting firm to replace Newton’s city administrator. City council met for a special meeting Monday to discuss the candidates and make their recommendations.

Three firms were selected by the council after each council member voiced their top two candidates. Councilman Jeremy Biondi was not present for the meeting.

Of those who presented materials, the council selected GovHR of Northbrook, Ill., Colin Baenziger and Associates Executive Recruiting based in Daytona Beach Shores, Fla. and Slavin Management Consultants of Atlanta, GA. Mayor Mike Hansen opened the discussion by suggesting a perimeter of two to three consulting firms to either interview or select from the packets they provided.

“I think it is always good to bring in consultants whenever you are considering their services and have that face to face,” Hansen said. “I think you gleam a lot more from that process than just the information that was submitted.”

Council agreed it would like to do in-person interviews and hopefully complete them all in one day. Possible Skype interviews were suggested if consultants were unable come to Newton, but the council decided it preferred in-person interviews

“I like Slavin. I like the fact that there are background checks and on-site visits,” Councilman Steve Mullan said. “I also like the follow ups from 90 to 455 days, so it’s not just a day 90 thing, they are on board for quite a ride. I also liked that, statistically speaking, three out of 900 have only left after two years on the job and 95 percent that they place stay more than five years, that says something.”

Councilman Craig Trotter said he liked Colin Baenziger because of its ability to bring six to 10 finalists for the council to view.

“They have a client base of 13,000,” Trotter said. “They also provide one-on-one meetings with each council members.”

Councilwoman Lin Chapé said she also likes their process.

“When I look at the city manager searches that they have completed, they are all different size communities,” Councilwoman Miranda Kulis said. “Some of the others either focused on really large communities or smaller areas, I liked seeing the breadth that they could do.”

Following the selections, council discussed dates in mid to late October to begin the interview process.

Council started the process of replacing current city administrator Bob Knabel following the announcement of this pending retirement in August. Knabel’s final day in office is Oct. 3.

Newton Fire Chief Jarrod Wellik was selected as the interim city administrator during the selection process.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com