Beckley’s city manager will not be required to live within Beckley’s city limits.
According to the job posting, the city manager will only be required to live in Raleigh County, contrary to the expressed wishes of many Beckley City Manager Recruitment Committee members.
The job posting for Beckley’s city manager was added to the city’s Facebook page on Wednesday, along with a community survey designed to gather residents’ input on desired traits for the position.
According to the listing, candidates must live within Raleigh County within one year of the hire date and can expect a salary between $100,000 and $140,000.
Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree in public administration, business administration, urban planning, or a related field, and experience in municipal or city government is preferred.
The job listing was posted to several job sites nearly two weeks ago by Baker Tilly.
In April, Beckley signed a contract for just over $28,000 with Baker Tilly, a Virginia-based recruitment agency, to help advertise, recruit and hire a city manager.
The contract included a $1,650 fee for the company to conduct a web-based community survey.
The city posted a link to the survey on its Facebook page earlier in the week. The link to the survey is also on the city’s website.
The survey has eight questions, the first three of which ask about the participant’s age, race or ethnicity and relationship to the city – business owner, resident, city staff, community organization/ partner or other.
It then goes on to ask about the ideal professional experience and expertise for a city manager, preferred management and leadership qualities, and the highest priority issues and greatest challenges that the new city manager must be prepared to address.
The final questions ask participants to write a question they’d like to pose to the city manager candidates and provide any other information that would be important for the city and search committee to consider during the hiring process.
Survey responses are due by July 26. According to information posted with the survey, the results will be shared with the community.
Applicants for city manager are “encouraged” to apply by July 16.
Attached to the job posting is a recruitment brochure created by Baker Tilly, which describes the Beckley community, gives an overview of the municipality, lists the many responsibilities of the city manager and other expectations for the candidate.
The job posting and a link to the brochure can be found at governmentjobs.com/careers/bakertilly/jobs/4541613/city-manager-beckley-west-virginia.
Before the brochure and job listing were published, they were reviewed by the Beckley City Manager Recruitment Committee, which consists of three community leaders and five Beckley Council members. The meetings are led by City Attorney Bile File. The city’s human resources director also attends the meetings.
After reviewing the materials, committee members said they felt the city manager should be required to live in Beckley instead of simply Raleigh County.
During a June 6 meeting, council member Cody Reedy said that because the city manager would hold a great deal of authority in decision-making within the city of Beckley, it made sense that the person selected for the role also lives within the city those decisions impact.
Newly elected Beckley Council member Frank Williams, who will be sworn in on July 1, also spoke in this meeting and mentioned that most city positions do not have residency requirements.
“I don’t have a problem with it; I just want it pointed out,” Williams said.
File said the only city officials required by charter to live in the city are the mayor, city council, recorder-treasurer and city attorney.
While the committee appeared to agree that the city manager should live in Beckley, the application does not reflect this desire.
Instead, the job posting states that the city manager is required to live within Raleigh County within a year of being hired, though locating within the city of Beckley is “preferred.”
The purpose of the Beckley City Manager Recruitment Committee was to lead the city’s selection process for a city manager.
The committee does not have the capability to hire a city manager, as that authority lies with the Beckley Council.
The recruitment committee met for the first time on Thursday, Feb. 29. Although the committee was initially scheduled to meet weekly, the meetings are frequently canceled at the last minute.
The regularity of canceled meetings and disagreements with how the committee is being run have led to some committee members resigning their positions.
Most recently, Jina Belcher, executive director of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, emailed committee members to announce her resignation.
In her letter of resignation dated June 26, Belcher said she was dissatisfied with “several aspects of the committee’s operations.”
“There has been a persistent lack of transparent communication and an evident lack of urgency in filling the city manager position,” Belcher wrote. “Additionally, the frequent cancellation of committee meetings has hindered our progress, and there has been a troubling lack of clarity regarding the committee’s purpose. The clear unilateral decision-making that circumvents the committee’s intended role has also been a significant concern for me.”
Belcher ended her email by stating that, while she no longer felt she could serve on the committee, she would “continue to support the establishment of a strong city manager form of government.”
“My decision to resign should not be seen as a lack of support for this goal but rather a reflection of my concern for the integrity and effectiveness of the City of Beckley’s processes,” Belcher said.
In May, council member Robert Dunlap announced that he would be stepping down from his position on the committee. The decision came a few weeks after the municipal election, in which Dunlap lost his bid for Beckley mayor to now-mayor-elect Ryan Neal.
In an email dated May 24 to File and Baker Tilly, Dunlap wrote that due to Neal’s expected involvement in the committee, he felt it would be best if he stepped down from the committee to “avoid potential and unnecessary immpass(es).”
“(Neal) has announced his excitement to shape this position and I fear as I have very strong and informed beliefs regarding the composition and obligations of this position conflict is easily foreseeable,” Dunlap wrote. “My assertive brand of advocating on this committee may be misconstrued, albeit based on my extensive prior experience as a council person and as a licensed attorney; mistaken for a mere contrarian.”
Beckley Council member Tom Sopher is also expected to step away from the committee as he lost his seat on council in the May election to retired school teacher Natalie Coots.
It’s unclear if any of the departing committee members will be replaced.
The committee is scheduled to meet every Thursday at 3:30 p.m., though the new meeting falls on July 4.
It has yet to be announced whether the committee meeting for next week will be rescheduled due to the holiday.
