The city is almost ready to officially advertise for the vacant City Manager position.
At Monday night’s meeting, the council voted to review the job description created by UMass-Boston’s Collins Center in subcommittee before moving forward with the posting.
The council was set to vote on the job posting Monday night, but Councilor-at-Large Damali Vidot raised some concerns about the process to come up with the posting, and requested the further review in subcommittee. Council President Leo Robinson set the subcommittee meeting for Tuesday, April 18, which will be followed by a special meeting of the full council to vote on the job posting.
Councilor-at-Large Brian Hatleberg said he wanted to make sure the council acted as quickly as possible to approve the posting so that the city could start the process.
Applications will be reviewed by a screening committee, and that committee will then conduct interviews before forwarding a small number of finalists to the council for final interviews and selection.
In the posting submitted by the Collins Center, the ideal candidate for City Manager will be a “seasoned public administrator in an environment of similar complexity who possesses strong organizational, communication and community leadership skills.”
The posting states that the city is seeking a manager with the skill, energy, creativity, vision, and experience to achieve the city’s goals. Those goals include preserving public service levels, fostering development, and maintaining the city’s positive civic attitude toward the future.
The position requires a Bachelor’s degree and seven to 10 years of experience as a municipal manager or other position that oversees the operations of a public entity governed by an elected policy body that makes decisions in a public setting. A Master’s degree is desirable but not required.
In other business Monday night, the council approved proclamations recognizing Autism Awareness Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and National Arab-American Heritage Month.
In addition, Councilor-at-Large Damali Vidot thanked Mimi Graney for her service as Chelsea’s Downtown Coordinator. Graney recently left to take a new position in Concord.
Vidot noted that she was initially hesitant about the position, but that Graney did an amazing job promoting and improving the downtown.
“I don’t want anyone who has committed and given so much to our community and building us up to ever feel we don’t appreciate the work they have done,” said Vidot. “Mimi Graney, you will be truly missed and we appreciate the work you have done in this community. I have learned so much from you and thank you for the high bar you set while you were here.”