Search To Restart For Top Job At City Hall

After a heated and drama filled Kimball City Council meeting, the search for a city administrator will restart, according to Mayor Keith Prunty.

The Observer has begun searching to understand the depth of a city administrator’s job – just what does a city administrator do, what does it include, and how hard is the job?

Larger cities such as like Scottsbluff and Alliance are more inclined to have a city manager. A city manager has more authority than a city administrator but the positions are similar. City administrators must go to council and the mayor for approval, but city managers run the city with input and approval from council. Both Alliance and Scottsbluff are looking to fill their city manager vacancies at this time.

Dick Scott from Sidney is currently the city manager, and he said some people don’t want to go into those type of jobs anymore because in so many places the public is so abrasive. He also said that he is by no means an expert on every part of the infrastructure of the city, but he has “rudimentary knowledge” on how the power plant works, the electric grid, landfill and sewer systems. According to him, most city managers have an appropriate educational background and come from the area of public works, economic development or financial director. Scott has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in Finance, he also earned an MBA from Perdue University.

The Observer asked former retired Kimball city administrator Dan Dean to weigh in on how difficult the position is and how stressful it is. “You have to have the right personality and attitude,” he said. “All kinds of things come up everyday from personnel issues, troubleshooting, citizen complaints, land use issues and zoning (to name a few). Something new and different everyday.” He said a city administrator has to be “resourceful” in looking and knowing where to go find the answers.

Bridgeport has been without a city administrator for more than a year, but City Clerk/Treasurer Dori Huck said their search now is at a standstill. She said, “We get a long pretty good” without a city administrator. Council members need to look at what is best for the community not what is best for themselves, Huck stated.

Tensions ran high at the regular Kimball City Council meeting on Sept. 15. The city council chambers were packed with about 45 people attending. The public hearing on the budget was quick, as was the public hearing to set the final property tax request. The council was in agreement on those votes as well as the restricted lid vote, but the unity stopped with the next agenda item – the appointment of the city administrator.

Mayor Prunty named City Treasurer Annette Brower as his selection for his appointment. James Shields made the motion to approve Brower, and Creg Pike was a bit delayed in seconding the motion. It was high drama as the vote for approval of Annette Brower was defeated by a 3-1 vote, with Shields the only aye vote.

For about 20 minutes prior to the vote, a variety of people stated and some re-stated their opinions and complaints. Individuals speaking at the meeting were Christy Warner, Ashley Sisk, Carson Sisk, Maggie Laughlin, Amy Sapp, Brad Brower, Sonny Porter and Dan Schildhauer.

Former council member Warner asked if the process was the same as previously and the response from the council was affirmative. Yet, following Warner, Ashley Sisk, wife of applicant Carson Sisk, said she as not convinced that the process was the same. She felt Brower had an unfair advantage because Brower, a member of the review committee, put in her applicant just prior to the deadline then removed herself from the review committee.

Accusations of unprofessional conduct and favoritism flew back and forth as the discussion continued. Carson Sisk spoke on his own behalf about an email he sent to Mayor Prunty. Sisk said he had questions that he wanted answered: “I wasn’t trying to be abrasive; I am sorry you took it that way,” he told Prunty. Prunty did not respond to the email. Sisk said he was also “pretty bothered” that Brower did not come to him personally and say that she had applied for the position.

Brad Brower questioned whether Councilwoman Kim Baliman should have abstained in her council vote due to previous public comments made in support of Sisk for the position. As a member of the review committee, Baliman stated during the meeting, “I didn’t know that was wrong, I did not know (as a public official) I could not do that.” The mayor and Councilman Shields both accused Baliman of being biased prior to the interview process.

Ashley Sisk complained that Annette Brower had an unfair advantage because she was able to “tailor” her resume to the job description. Resumes of both Brower and Sisk were available to the public during the interview process.

Finally, Sonny Porter, chairman of the Board of Public Works, said he had concerns because “We had outside candidates who had put their hats in the ring and Carson and Annette had relationships here.” He continued, “If you use that logic, then both of them had an inside advantage to anybody else that was going to put their hat in the ring. In my view, they both had an unfair advantage to anybody from the outside.”

Brower did not comment during the meeting.

City Council Comments

James Shields

“In the previous 7½ years of serving on the City Council, I don’t recall a council meeting filled with such animosity. The process of finding a City Administrator has not been a race to the finish line decision. Collectively it involved elected and appointed individuals who are valued residents in the community. In hindsight, following the discussion, I believe a better alternative course of action would have been to table the agenda item to allow a cooling-off period for all involved and provide extended time for residents to express further concerns.

“I believe we are at a crossroads where other options to consider and discuss would be: 1) Start the search process again further using taxpayer resources. 2) Continue the present course of sharing the administer duties, which the city would see some cost savings and other ancillary benefits, remember two heads are better than one. 3) Explore other avenues available to second class cities, i.e. a commission form of government. It is imperative during any decision-making process to cultivate an environment that fosters collective reasoning and a desire to understand all points of view in a respectful manner. As elected officials in the community, I believe it should be our goal to strive to be above reproach while serving in office.”

Kim Baliman

“The importance of listening to the citizens’ voice, that there is value in the concerns shared and red flags raised by the people, and last but not least, that no matter how difficult some decisions are, remembering as an elected official, I work for the taxpayers. 

“Respect and leadership come from the top down – I learned very young that respect is a two way street. I can only speak for myself, but after the meeting, I’ve continued to receive feedback from the public thanking me for keeping a level head and remaining true to the concerns of the citizens. It is my opinion that my fellow councilmen and myself acted respectfully in what was clearly a very pivotal evening.

“Employees are taxpayers, too, and they should be free to voice their opinions to the council. 

Community members should never feel threatened or ever have a fear of losing business because they speak their minds and/or share their concerns. I welcome the comments of the citizens and do my best to hear, listen, and learn from what they share with me; whether or not it’s my own opinion.

 I strongly believe that we need to look differently at how we review the applications of candidates.  We need to have a group of local individuals that represent several different demographics, not just people within the walls of City Hall.”

Creg Pike

“The position of City Administrator is an apolitical position given that she or he must be able to manage and steer the City through sometimes very conflicting requirements.  What transpired before and during the meeting was far from apolitical.  Both individuals were strong candidates.  Regardless of the outcome between our two candidates, she or he would have faced a No-Win situation.

“It is always good to have a strong exchange of ideas and views in our Democratic process.  However, statements not based on facts or accusations not based on evidence only served to divide.  As a community we need to move forward!  We have critical issues facing the city right now.  How will we prepare and correctly prosper with the upcoming missile upgrades?  How will the city take advantage of the recent Land Bank Bill, LB424 to improve the city?  How will the city develop methods and programs to meet and encourage growth?

“We need the voices from all the Facebook exchanges and from the recent City council meeting to be involved in these discussions!  Bringing in a city administrator from the outside will also help support this.

“Finally, I think we all need to take a step back and look at where the City has come from these last three to four years!  This has been accomplished due to both our elected officials and the employees who have stepped up to meet the challenges, especially the two candidates.

Matt Bright

Councilman Bright was not immediately available for comment.