BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON - Imagine having not one boss, but seven. Imagine dealing with 13 different departments and balancing public, political and business interests.
That's just a partial overview of the city manager's job that's up for grabs in Hamilton, the Tristate's second-largest city.
"A city manager really has to be a jack-of-all-trades - and a master of pretty many of them," said Indian Hill City Manager Mike Burns, president of the Ohio City Management Association.
About 65 Ohio cities, including Cincinnati, employ a city manager who answers to as many as nine city council members. In Hamilton, the seven council members are trying to decide which of three longtime city employees will become the next city manager.
"It's definitely tough. It's his job to deal with seven different personalities, seven different egos and sometimes seven different agendas," said Councilman George McNally. "He has to try to sell all of them his vision for what's right - and when he can't, he's got to suck it up and do what they tell him to do behind the scenes."
Council kept the search for a new city manager in-house, rather than conducting a national search. Four candidates initially applied, but Public Utilities Director Richard Fleming withdrew his name.
Today, council will conduct a 90-minute interview with each of the three remaining candidates: Planning Director Jim Boerke, Assistant City Manager Steve Sorrell and Public Works Director Mike Samoviski.
Councilwoman Sharon Hughes said council hopes to decide the successor for City Manager Hal Shepherd within two weeks of the interviews. Mr. Shepherd, who has been city manager since 1989, has announced he will retire in April.
"It's such an important decision because we're hoping whoever we choose will be in that position for several years, if not many years," Mrs. Hughes said. "We were spoiled to have Hal for nine years."
The job pays about $86,000 to $110,000 a year, depending on experience and qualifications.
All three applicants are experienced and qualified, council members point out.
"I would be happy with any of the three people who are now candidates to become city manager," said Councilman Fred Southard. "First of all, they're good people. They have long histories with the city and a proven record of problem-solving. It's just a matter of using the interview process to weed out their strengths and weaknesses."
The city manager's duties include executing laws that council enacts, supervising personnel, submitting reports to council and managing the city's budget. Essentially, he is the chairman of a "corporation" and is charged with overseeing all aspects of its operation. In this case, the "board of directors" is Hamilton's seven council members.
Although council members say they're reserving judgment until the interviews are completed, some members admitted they're leaning toward a certain candidate, but they would not reveal which one.
"I may have a favorite based on my observations, but I want to be fair and objective to all," said Councilman Richard Holzberger. His No. 1 concern, which many other council members also listed, is communication. "That's my big thing," he said. "I want someone who knows what's going on and tells us what's going on."
"I want someone who can communicate and delegate," said Councilman Danny Crank.
Although Mr. Shepherd has gained high marks for his job performance, Mr. Crank said, "one of the things I've asked Hal to do is to try to delegate a little more. He has tried to do too much and has busted his butt trying to get it done."
Mayor Tom Nye said he's concerned about people skills, given that the city work force exceeds 700.
Mr. Southard is interested in leadership skills and ability to listen, along with ability to negotiate union contracts and manage the city's $200 million-plus budget.
Another required trait: decisiveness.
"I'm looking for someone who has a strong will, the ability to deal with tough, complex issues. I'm looking for someone who is not afraid to make a decision," said Vice Mayor Adolf Olivas. "I appreciate a person who will look me in the eye and tell me, in a respectful way, 'You're full of it.' "
Getting unanimous support is nearly impossible in the city manager's position, Mr. Shepherd said. That's why he agrees decision-making ability is one of the most important requisites for the new city manager.
"Whoever gets this job, they're going to have a lot of decisions thrown at them from Day One," he said. "And you've got to make decisions today, because there are going to be more tomorrow."
But the decisions have to be well-reasoned. So the city manager must research his decision enough, but not too much - and must keep in mind the long-term consequences, Mr. Shepherd said.
The next city manager will have to deal with many initiatives that are already in progress. Those include construction of the multimillion-dollar Government Services Center, redevelopment of abandoned industrial sites and formulating Vision 2020, the city's first comprehensive plan since 1948.
"The next manager is going to finish what was started," Mr. Shepherd said, "and take the city into the next century."
