News

The Ohio City/County Management Association (OCMA) recently unveiled a comprehensive new guide for elected officials and staff who are recruiting a local government administrator.   The guide is a detailed resource designed to assist city, county and township governments in navigating the complexities of an executive recruitment process. It covers a range of topics, from how to develop a position profile, to a recommended process, including sample questions for conducting interviews of preferred candidates.   

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The Challenges of Recruiting an Administrator

Recruiting an administrator who directly oversees the day to day operations of a local government can be a challenging task.   For elected officials, selecting a new chief administrative officer is one of the most important and challenging responsibilities that they may have during their time in office.   It is a low frequency, high risk type of decision.  Because of its infrequency, it can be difficult to determine what a professional and well organized process should be for selecting a new administrator.

Recent local government executive searches in Ohio and across the country have seen a marked decline in the number of applicants for open positions.   Many communities that once would have expected to receive 50 or more applications for an administrator position have been seeing only 20 applications in recent years.   

The current political environment and the modern realities of relocation have made the process to attract qualified candidates more difficult than ever.   Potential candidates often have partners or spouses with their own professional careers that must be navigated as part of contemplating a relocation.   Today, those considering a job in a new community where relocation is required must also calculate the cost of leaving a 3% mortgage rate behind for one that may exceed 7%.   Combined, these factors have resulted in an extremely competitive market for qualified administrators.    

The Importance of the Process Used for Executive Recruitments

The challenges in the current marketplace for recruitment suggest that the process used for executive searches is critically important in order to ensure that your community attracts qualified candidates.   Put simply, the professionalism of the recruitment process can directly influence the number of quality candidates who apply for an open position.   

The process of a search can be undertaken by two methods: internally or with the help and guidance of a municipal executive search firm. For municipalities that utilize a search consultant, this person or group should help establish the process that is followed for the recruitment.  Whether an internal or consultant aided search is used, the process will be expedited if an internal search committee is established to handle some of the logistics of the search. The outcome will be improved if elected officials are aligned on duties and responsibilities of the manager or administrator.    

The first step that should be undertaken is the development of a position profile, formally listing the skills, experience, training and qualities of the position.   The process of developing this profile will help clarify the duties and responsibilities of the administrator.  Initially, position profiles should identify what is most important to the hiring body including the working relationship members expect to have with the new administrator.  An inclusive process, including senior staff and significant stakeholders, should be used to define the issues foreseen for the new administrator.  Ultimately, from this profile applicants should be able to determine if they are a good fit for the job and focus their preparation.

A sample administer profile can be found in the OCMA Recruitment Guide.

Residency

Ohio law no longer allows residency requirements in local government charters. If residency within the municipality is desired, clearly state this in the advertisement. Thought should be given to define if the local government is open to candidates living outside of the jurisdiction which will broaden the pool of potential candidates.  If residency is desired, it should be discussed whether the elected body is open to a period of transition during which a successful candidate may live outside the community.  

Interviews

It is important the entire hiring body interview all proposed interviewees. Questions intended to test the candidate’s reaction to issues raised in the profile should be prepared in advance and asked of all candidates. After each interview, panel members should be asked to record their reactions but not hold an extensive discussion of each candidate until all candidates have been interviewed.

Without a strong consensus of an ideal candidate, each member of the governing body may have a different vision of the “perfect” candidate.   Interview biases are important to recognize.  Interviewers may prefer candidates that are most similar to themselves in terms of style or background.   This may result in a first-impression or confirmation bias in interviews that diminishes the needs of the organization.  

A sample set of questions, an interview evaluation form, as well as interview “do’s” and “don’ts” are included in the full OCMA Recruitment Guide.  

Appointments and Contracts

When the hiring body has tentatively selected its preferred candidate, there are still several decisions that need to be made. Someone from the hiring body may wish to visit the candidate’s present local government in order to speak personally with people there about the administrator’s performance. The results of this exploration should be shared with all members of the selection process. 

The 2024 OCMA Conference, held for the first time at the Hilton at Easton Town Center, was a huge success thanks to the efforts of so many people within OCMA who helped to plan and participated in the event.  The conference had record attendance, with more than 70 first-time attendees, and more than 230 colleagues in local government in Ohio at the conference.    

Wednesday kicked off with an excellent mobile workshop where Megan Meyer gave us a tour of two brownfield redevelopments in Whitehall and attendees heard a presentation about the renovation of the East Market, a former trolley barn complex in Columbus.  Discussion of a stackable, pre-fabricated housing units being manufactured by Connect Housing Blocks that will be assembled across the street from the East Market this summer left participants wanting to come back and see the construction of the nearby residential project. Seeing all of these redevelopment projects first-hand was a reminder of what can be achieved with creative approaches to problem solving, public-private partnerships, and the use of placemaking.  

Yaromir Steiner gave an exceptional General Session presentation on his work with mixed-use developments, specifically highlighting his work in developing Easton Town Center. The value of placemaking, and the intentional design of “negative spaces” that serve as public gathering spots was a reminder for us about the importance of public spaces in our own communities.  

I was also happy that the conference introduced a number of new social events for conference attendees.  Our restaurant romp was a “sold out” event that brought together members from around the State. The Board heard great feedback about this new event, and we will be excited to bring it back in 2025.  

On Thursday, Sheryl Sculley, author of Greedy Bastards and retired City Manager of San Antonio, Texas, gave an unforgettable keynote address on courageous leadership in the midst of a volatile political environment in San Antonio, Texas. It was incredible to hear her story firsthand and consider how we can apply what she learned in our professional lives. We closed Thursday with a General Session from Valerie Lemmie, Senior Advisor for State and Local Government at the Kettering Foundation and retired City Manager, on Achieving Effective Community Leadership. Her discussion about ways that local governments can strengthening democratic principles and further equity in our communities was timely and thought provoking.

On our final day of the conference, I updated members on the strategic planning work that OCMA has done, and provided updates on how the association has been growing membership. Amber Holloway, current Vice President and City Manager for the City of West Carrollton will assume the Presidency of OCMA in July. Amber shared remarks on Friday morning and gave two calls to action: 

First, she urged members to consider serving on a OCMA committee. We need a broad array of voices to shape the future of our organization. The Board can’t do this work without the help and support of our excellent Committees, and this is a great way to get more involved. 

Second, if you can’t volunteer time on a committee, please consider sharing your feedback on the conference and the organization by taking our brief survey (emailed to all conference attendees) or submitting feedback on our website. 

After our opening session, conference attendees participated in strategic planning working groups, heard a general session presentation on the Practice of Government Management from Dr. John Bartle, University of Nebraska, Omaha, and had the opportunity to engage in a professional development workshop on Authentic Leadership and Teambuilding in High-Pressure Environments given by Dr. Don Stenta, Ohio State University.

I want to recognize and thank everyone who made this year’s annual conference such a special event.  The work of the conference planning committee headed by Daryl Hennessey, Karen Graves, Megan Meyer, and Jennifer Teal, and with critical support from Megan Hastings and Sandra Miller from Ohio State, made this conferences one of the best ever. I also want to recognize and thank all of OCMA’s members for your service in communities across Ohio.   It has been an honor to serve as President of OCMA, and I believe that the growth that OCMA has seen over the past year sets the stage for many great years moving forward.  

Dan Ralley

President, OCMA 

At OCMA’s 2024 Annual Conference the new slate of board members was announced for 2024-2025. Board members are voted on by the membership, and starting July 1, 2024 the new OCMA Board will be as follows:

• President, Amber Holloway, City Manager of West Carrollton
• Vice President, Dan Wendt, City Manager of Vandalia
• Bryan Heck, City Manager of Springfield
• Jeff Weckbach, Township Administrator for Colerain Township and ICMA Midwest Vice-President
• Ken Wilson, Franklin County Administrator
• Immediate Past President, Dan Ralley, Assistant City Manager in Hilliard.
• Treasurer, Mark Schwieterman, Retired City Manager Kettering

Ken Wilson, who has served as Franklin County Administrator since 2015, will join the OCMA Board in July. Ken previously served as the President of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. He has served as the Chair of OCMA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee since 2022, and previously served as the Co-Chair of the Membership Services Committee. Ken was also instrumental in helping to plan for ICMA’s 2022 Annual Conference in Columbus.

The OCMA Annual Awards recognize fellow local government colleagues who are exceptional in promoting excellence in local government.  Nominations are made by professionals in local government toward projects and individuals that go above and beyond for their respective communities.  At the 2024 OCMA Annual Conference eight award winners were recognized for their career and project achievements to promote excellence in local government.

Sheryl Sculley, the former City Manager of San Antonio, delivered the keynote address at the 2024 Annual Conference. Sculley, who has navigated through the complexities of city management for over three decades, shared her insights and experiences, drawing largely from her book, Greedy Bastards.

Sculley’s tenure as a City Manager in San Antonio was a challenge from almost day one.   In her first week she was presented with a list of 300 employees who were being recommended for termination for inappropriate use of a computer despite strong administrative policies or adequate controls on the computers.   

Sculley’s data driven stand against unsustainable collective bargaining agreements forms the central theme in her book and was the highlight of her speech at the OCMA Conference.  San Antonio faced long-term fiscal challenges due to the expense of police and fire agreements that the City had with its bargaining units.   Extremely high health care costs, and overly-generous education and legal benefits were offered as examples.    In her address to the OCMA, Sculley recounted the difficult decisions she had to make, emphasizing the need for courageous leadership and innovative management strategies to ensure the long-term health of city finances.