Council splits votes for city manager, halts hiring

City ties 2 votes for new manager, LUB unanimously votes for outside candidate

ALYSSA B. MARTIN news-herald.net

Loudon City Council and Loudon Utility Board held a special meeting to appoint a City and General Manager — resulting in two tied votes from City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 13 — one for Mayor Jeff Harris and one for an outside candidate, Thomas McCormick. Loudon Utility Board voted unanimously in favor of McCormick.

The voting process resulted in a nearly twohour meeting.

Following an initial Loudon City Council meeting held Feb. 12, there were whispers among attendees of some Council members planning to vote for the mayor — despite narrowing the search down to three different candidates through an earlier agreed-upon process.

Harris wasn’t in attendance at last week’s meetings due to being himself, as it turned out, a candidate.

Out of the 30 qualified candidates that Municipal Solutions Recruiting CEO Dave Evertsen presented to the Loudon City Council and the Loudon Utility Board in early January, the search was narrowed down to McCormick, Tom Pessemier and Corey Rheinecker. These three men interviewed with the City Council and the Utility Board on Monday, Feb. 12, and the short list of candidates also received two opportunities for public meetings with community members and department heads on the same day.

During last Tuesday’s meeting, Evertsen briefed the City Council and LUB on the finalists’ various experiences. And all three indicated they would be thrilled to work in Loudon and had received positive experiences with everyone they met.

Immediately after Evertsen’s briefing, however, Vice Mayor Tim Dixon nominated Mayor Jeff Harris as the new city manager and Utility Board general manager with a second to the motion made by Council member James “Bear” Webb.

During a roll-call vote, Council members Eric Newman and John Cardwell voted against the motion — causing a 2-to-2 split in the vote.

While shocking some, more whispers of reassurances murmured throughout the crowd of two dozen or so community members.

Newman suggested the City Council and LUB members discuss their opinions on the candidates before making more nominations or motions. This was the first time the two entities had met together since narrowing down the candidates to the “final” three.

“I think each of them have a strong resumé (and a) strong background that could benefit us,” Newman said. “I think that’s why we’re here to see who rises to the occasion, who is the better personality fit and who has the strengths to complement what we have …” LUB Chair Don Campbell said he wasn’t fully satisfied with the trio of candidates making the short list — from a utility perspective. Though he said the three finalists selected are the “cream of the crop” from what the Loudon City Council and Loudon Utility Board had to choose from, none of the three top candidates have experience in natural gas and water and wastewater and electricity.

Although it was pointed out that McCormick has the most experience with all except electricity.

Though Campbell complimented all three finalists — stating they are strong candidates with some good attributes — the Utility Board chair said they lack the full utility qualifications that he had hoped for.

When the search for the new city and Utility Board general manager began, the Loudon City Council and the Loudon Utility Board discussed splitting the dual-role into two separate positions at some point in the next few years; it was indicated that the city of Loudon would need an extended period of time to make that transition due to funding while the Loudon Utility Board could make the split work almost immediately.

According to Loudon Utility Board Director Carlie McEachern, Mayor Harris — if appointed — would be ready to retire in the next few years, which would make him a great candidate for transitioning the city and the board toward splitting the position at some point.

McEachern commended the mayor on the job he’s done since being tapped as the interim city and general manager. The LUB director also said that this isn’t just a job for Mayor Harris … because of his dedication to Loudon. Loudon Utility Board Chair Campbell suggested that if Harris were to be voted into the position, a deputy manager could be hired to take charge of the utility side of operations. To this, City Council member Newman rebutted that a deputy manager position could be added for any of the three top candidates, as well — but Campbell said he would only be in favor of the additional hire if it was to aid Mayor Harris.

Amidst the lengthy discussion regarding Mayor Harris’ nomination, those not in favor of hiring the mayor all agreed that he didn’t meet the desired qualifications.

“I’m a process person … (and) I think it’s the right thing to do because it’s fair,” Loudon Utility Vice Chair Gene Farmer said. “Everyone had their chance to put their name in (the hat). I had the chance to put my name in the hat, but I didn’t because I knew I wouldn’t be qualified.”

LUB Vice Chair Farmer later indicated that he isn’t looking for a short-term solution, but instead someone with longevity.

The discussion regarding Harris and splitting the roles lasted for about 30 minutes — before the initial finalists were brought back up.

Before discussing his top picks for the position, Loudon City Council member and LUB Director John Cardwell reminded everyone that the conversation of splitting the two positions came up years ago, but it was ultimately put off for the time being … with no resurfacing when this specific search first came up.

Though he indicated that there may be merit in splitting the two positions, Cardwell ultimately said Loudon City Council and the Loudon Utility Board have a short list of candidates who meet the criteria that the Council and Board have been searching for.

“Are they perfect? No. “Are they good? Yes. “We can’t let perfect get in the way of good,” Cardwell said. “There’s not a single person in this room or on this board who is perfect … (and) I think we found good.”

After members of the Loudon City Council and the Loudon Utility Board discussed both the admirable and perhaps less admirable attributes of each of the three candidates on the short list, it appeared that McCormick was the front runner for each of those not in favor of Harris.

After nearly an hour of conversing about the various candidates and what each brought to the table, City Council member Newman made a motion to first extend an offer to McCormick and then follow that up with an offer to Pessemier if McCormick said no.That motion was seconded by City Council member Cardwell, but the vote was split 2-to-2 again with Vice Mayor Dixon and fellow City Council member Webb voting against the motion.

Loudon City Council member Newman asked Dixon and Webb what their solutions were, but neither gave an immediate answer.

Eventually, however, Webb said he couldn’t vote for any of the three finalists because he didn’t feel he had enough information to go off of — including the thoughts of the city’s department heads. Webb indicated that he didn’t feel right voting to hire a candidate without the department heads’ input in fear of making a wrong decision.

Loudon City Council member Newman didn’t appear happy by the turn of events regarding voting and the City Council’s inability to agree on a candidate. He said the way the hiring process has been “hijacked is curious.”

Municipal Solutions Recruiting CEO Evertsen disclosed that initially four candidates were extended offers to interview; however, upon hearing that some members of the Loudon City Council and the Loudon Utility Board were hoping to name the city mayor to the dual or split position(s), at least one on the short list of “four” candidates receiving an offer to interview reportedly bowed out of the candidates’ pool.

After a lengthy discussion, Evertsen agreed to put together a questionnaire to send to department heads to receive more feedback on their opinions and present the information by Friday, Feb. 16, to give ample time to review and form an opinion before the Loudon City Council reconvened this week.

The City Council was scheduled to gather again this Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 5 p.m. in the City of Loudon Municipal Building in continuation of the Feb. 13 meeting to vote on a city manager and LUB general manager.

An update has been posted to the News-Herald Facebook page regarding the latest outcome.

Meanwhile, members of the Loudon Utility Board voted unanimously on Tuesday, Feb. 13, in favor of appointing Thomas McCormick as the new city manager and LUB general manager.