Davis Named City Administrator

Hendersonville’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Tuesday night to appoint Carmen Davis as City Administrator. Here’s more from the Hendersonville Standard:

A former county administrator who also spent a decade as a city planner in Detroit, Mich., has been picked to be Hendersonville’s first city administrator.

Carmen Davis, who served for nearly 10 years as the county administrator in Hinds County, Miss., until a new Board of Supervisors voted her out earlier this year, was appointed to the newly created position by a 9 to 4 vote on Tuesday.

The appointment by the city’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen via Zoom followed a nearly two-hour discussion about the problems the city is having with Waste Pro, the company responsible for trash pick-up.

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The Secret List

Who will be Hendersonville's next (first) City Administrator?

Well, we can't know because City officials are keeping the names of the five finalists secret. This seems to fly in the face of open records laws, but City officials insist their behind the scenes behavior is totally appropriate.

The Hendersonville Standard has more:

The list of those vying to be Hendersonville’s first permanent city administrator has been narrowed down to five, according to Dave LeMarbre who currently holds the position on an interim basis.   

The list will be narrowed down further before it’s made public who the final candidates are, LeMarbre added. 

The candidates include: 

A county administrator from Mississippi; a chief of staff for a city council in Wisconsin; a former city manager from Ohio; a police chief from Kansas; a chief administrative officer for a mayor in Alabama; a deputy city manager from a city larger than Hendersonville in Virginia; a chief of staff for a city manager in a large city in Florida; an interim village manager in Illinois; a city manager from a small East Tennessee town; the chief executive and administrative officer for a Pennsylvania city of similar size and budget to Hendersonville; and a town manager for a small town in North Carolina with a budget about one-fourth the size of Hendersonville’s.

One woman and one professional who is currently working in Tennessee are among the 11 candidates. None of the candidates are former or current Hendersonville employees, nor are any of the candidates current or former Hendersonville elected officials. 

The secrecy surrounding the process is allegedly to avoid further "political strife." However, it seems that by keeping the names of applicants secret, the process is only adding to the tension surrounding the process.

Typically, the selection process for public officials is relatively transparent. Lists of names are released once the application deadline is met. As the process narrows candidates, the list of finalists is also typically released. Often, meetings to narrow candidates are held in public, with opportunities for public forums or other comment on potential leaders.

It's not clear what statutory authority City Attorney John Bradley is using to justify this super secret process.

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LeMarbre to Become Interim City Administrator

Alderman Russ Edwards with an update on BOMA business from last night's meeting:

Our meeting last night (Nov. 26th) lasted until almost midnight. A substantial majority of our time was dedicated to discussion of appointment of an interim city administrator. That was approved by a vote of 10-3.

Dave LaMarbe, Hendersonville’s former parks director, was named the interim CA. He is very well respected and will able to help us transition to a permanent CA. One of the stipulations in the resolution is that he will NOT be named the permanent CA. Al

so, this position is only for 6 months.

This was an incredibly difficult decision for me, one that I really struggled over. I voted in favor of it along with Darryl Woodcock and Eddie Roberson, and all three of us consistently voted against having a CA. One of the reasons for my vote is that I did not want any more accusations that the hiring process for the permanent CA was be obstructed in any way. The interim CA will oversee the advertising process of the permanent CA. While I did not want a CA, out of respect for BOMA’s decision to hire one by a majority of its members, we need to move forward with hiring a permanent CA as expeditiously as possible.

I really wish we we did not have to make the decision to hire an interim CA, and I’m not blaming anyone for it. I feel, though, that the correct decision by BOMA was made last night under the very difficult circumstances that are presented.

As I said in the meeting last night, this to me is similar to having an unplanned child. Having a CA was not in my plan, but now that it’s here we need to embrace it and try to find the best person to fill that role. I want the CA to succeed in making Hendersonville an even better place to live, work, and raise our families.

On a lighter note, I wish everyone a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.

For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews 

Can't You Read?

Tempers flared at a recent Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting as Aldermen looked to appoint an interim City Administrator to remove management duties from current Mayor Jamie Clary. The Hendersonville Standard has more:

Cunningham, who is a co-sponsor of the resolution, said the move is necessary because Clary has instructed Human Resources Manager Peter Voss to not advertise the city administrator position. 

“The end result was our mayor unfortunately was violating our law,” she said. “Not only did he violate our law, he violated his oath of office which put us in dire straits. That more or less was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.” 

When asked why he instructed Voss to not fill the position, Clary said that it was his understanding that the board had not passed the salary, job description and qualifications of the city administrator along with the ordinance in May. 

Several aldermen as well as Jaeckel disputed his claim. 

“It’s part of the ordinance, mayor,” said Cunningham. “Can’t you read?”

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Toward a City Administrator?

It appears the City of Hendersonville is moving forward with plans to hire a City Administrator, reports the Hendersonville Standard:

Members of the city’s General Committee unanimously voted Tuesday to recommend the city move forward with hiring a city administrator.

The full Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 7 to 6 on May 28 to establish the position of a city administrator – a controversial vote preceded by nearly three years of discussion as well as the formation of a special committee to explore the issue.

Those who opposed the new position have argued it would take away many of the responsibilities performed by an elected mayor and put more control in the hands of the full Board of Mayor and Aldermen. A city administrator will report to the full board, and not just the mayor.  

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Coming Soon: City Administrator

More on Hendersonville's move to a City Administrator:

Hendersonville will begin the search for a city administrator next year, after the board of mayor and aldermen voted Tuesday on an ordinance to create the position.

After an amendment suggested by Alderwoman Arlene Cunningham, the board will fund the position and begin the search on July 1, 2020. The position would then fall under the 2020-21 fiscal year's budget.

Mayor Jamie Clary noted he's not thrilled with the idea, but he'll accept it should he be re-elected in 2020.

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The Case for a City Administrator

Hendersonville's late audit may be a good example of why Aldermen voted recently to hire a City Administrator.

Here's more on the audit situation:

Municipal audits are due within six months of the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30. On Tuesday, Kraft auditors explained why Hendersonville’s 2018 fiscal year audit was turned into the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office four months passed the Dec. 30, 2018 deadline.

Auditors attributed the problem to an extended vacancy in the assistant finance director position from late August, 2018 through March of 2019.

“The financial statements were unable to be issued timely to allow the users to assess the financial position of the City,” according to the audit.

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