ONEIDA, N.Y. — Mayor Rick Rossi and the Common Council renewed their search for a full-time city manager.
The qualifications for the position remain the same, a bachelor’s degree and five years of experience as a city manager, but the council has chosen a new approach to the search.
During the April 16 meeting at the Kallet Civic Center, Rossi and the council approved a seven-member committee to find a candidate who holds the city manager’s qualifications.
Rossi and Deputy Mayor Steve Laureti will be joined by five residents from each of the remaining wards — one, three four, five, and six — to conduct the search. Laureti also serves as the second ward councilman and already represents that ward.
Laureti asked that any volunteers who join the search committee have business qualifications. This was met by audience members saying that city residency should be sufficient.
The deadline for applications is May 31. The council intended to conduct interviews and find a city manager by June 3. They later changed their minds on the June 3 date.
“I own a recruiting business, and the time necessary to evaluate and find the best hire would simply not be there,” First Ward Councilman Jim Szczerba said after the meeting.
Oneida residents voted to amend the city charter and have Oneida run under a city manager style of government during New York’s General Election on Nov. 7, 2023. The council hired Douglas Selby, 70, who had worked as city manager in Las Vegas and Auburn, New York, on a nine-month interim basis.
Selby resigned after the Common Council voted 4-2 to terminate his employment at its April 2 meeting.
The council voted to accept Selby’s resignation, effective April 3 and also voted to accept Codes Enforcement Officer Rob Burnett as interim manager until Selby’s replacement can be found. Burnett has since resigned and was replaced by council vote with Water Superintendent John Monaghan.
“I want to thank Bob Burnett for his service. I know accepting the position was not an easy choice,” Rossi said.
Trouble began after Selby named Wells as his emergency replacement. Szczerba said some among the council opposed the move as a conflict of interest and was impractical
“As a businessman, I can tell you having your chief financial officer also serve as your chief executive officer is not a wise decision,” Szczerba said.
The council’s approach continues to draw criticism from several city residents and led to the public resignation of Zoning Board of Appeals President Fred Meyers.
“First you have a man who managed Las Vegas and you ran him off,” city resident Bob Britton said during the public comment period. “You’d think he knew how to run Oneida. Then you replace the second guy while he’s on vacation. You people sure do change your minds a lot.”
Callee 1945 co-owner Abbey Woodcock said she felt treated unfairly after her application for the city manager’s position was rejected after one hour.
“I have a master’s degree and I have helped develop the city’s successful application for state downtown revitalization money,” she said. “I just want everyone to know what’s happening here.”
Meyers had served for 31 years on the board of appeals and tendered his resignation over questions on a radio tower variance in Oneida’s outside district and their handling of the city manager search.
“I can not work for a council that acts in such an underhanded manner. But I am happy with their new approach to finding a new city manager,” Meyers said after the meeting.
A city manager is the chief administrative officer of a city or town that operates on a council-manager form of government. A city manager is not elected like a mayor but may be a full-time position.
While elected officials like city councilors and a mayor might write laws, the city manager is responsible for implementing them. Appointing and removing employees is more likely to fall to a city manager.
City managers oversee the day-to-day operations of a city. In a council-manager system of government, the city manager makes sure these departments, including police, fire, and public schools, function properly.
A city manager may be responsible for overseeing the budget, expenditures, and disbursements. And, a city manager does not vote on city council matters, but they do attend council meetings. They sometimes oversee those meetings.
