YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Council on Monday night considered a bill that would provide $50,000 to hire an executive search firm to find a replacement for City Manager Bob Cumley, who is retiring June 1.
Mayor Pro Tem Gary Deaver, co-chair of the 21-member search group tasked with choosing Cumley’s replacement, said the group had telephone conversations with five companies and narrowed the field to two finalists: Pennsylvania-based Arcus LLC and Dallas-based Waters Consulting Group Inc.
Deaver said a search firm is necessary to find the best-qualified person for the position.
“The kind of city manager we’re looking for is a passive candidate, someone who is not out of work or actively looking for work but is happy where they are and successful in their career,” Deaver said. “The two finalist firms have told us their specialty is finding those passive candidates.”
He added that the $50,000 would cover the firm’s fee and travel costs for both the candidates and search committee members who would travel to the candidates’ home cities to see how they work.
Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky pointed out that the chosen search firm will not be in charge of choosing the next city manager; its job is simply to find the most qualified candidates.
She also attempted to alleviate concerns about the city spending money to bring in outside help, especially in the face of the city’s current budget issues.
“A really good city manager is what we need to lead us into the future, and he or she is going to have to lead us for, I hope, a number of years,” Rushefsky said, noting that other communities in similar situations have expressed the benefits of using a search firm. “I think this is a case where trying to save this money would be a poor bargain – something akin to, as my mother would say, saving the pennies and throwing away the dollars.”
A public meeting is set for Thursday, March 13 at 4:00 p.m. at the Great Southern Operations Center, 218 S. Glenstone Ave., to introduce the two finalist firms.
See SBJ’s March 17 issue for more Springfield City Council news.
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April 7 was the official opening day for Mexican-Italian fusion restaurant Show Me Chuy after a soft launch that started March 31; marketing agency AdZen debuted; and the Almighty Sando Shop opened a brick-and-mortar space.