At the beginning of the meeting, just after the presentation by the search company representative, councilman Tim Dixon made the motion to hire Jeff Harris as city manager, seconded by Bear Webb. The vote went to a tie with Dixon and Webb voting to hire Harris and councilmen Eric Newman and John Cardwell voting no.

Lots more discussion but ultimately, the meeting was recessed until February 20th to continue the process.

It's very obvious, Webb and Dixon really want Harris as the manager after spending more than twenty thousand dollars to hire a search firm. Mayor Harris has apparently decided to sit this process out even though he's a voting member of the council.

If Harris would take his seat at the table, he could break the impasse by either voting for the nominated candidate or voting for himself. If he's concerned it might look bad for him to vote for himself, that ship's already sailed. This process already looks about as bad as it can. Councilman Cardwell sums it up pretty well with his back door analogy.  

The council voted to recess the meeting and reconvene the meeting on February 20th, 5:00 pm.

Below is a link to the meeting.

Loudon City Council 2-13-24