LEWISTON — Calls for a new city administrator went out his weekend, and councilors could begin discussing their selection process Tuesday.
Advertisements seeking Jim Bennett’s successor will be placed in the Maine Sunday Telegram and online at MaineJobs.com, the International City/County Management Association and the Maine Municipal Association Web site, according to Acting City Administrator Phil Nadeau.
But Nadeau said questions of whether councilors will look for potential candidates nationally or whether they’ll stick close to home haven’t been settled. Councilors also haven’t decided how public the hiring process will be.
“But if they make some decisions and settle on their preferences, they could be ready to begin interviewing candidates by Sept. 1,” Nadeau said.
Councilors are scheduled to deal with a range of issues Tuesday stemming from their decision to end Jim Bennett’s contract last week. They’ve scheduled a special meeting and workshop for 6 p.m., and topics include an executive session to discuss Nadeau’s contract as acting administrator, an executive session to discuss other legal matters, the city’s strategic plan and department restructuring.
Nadeau said he hopes councilors will discuss the administrator selection process during the “other City Business” item on Tuesday’s agenda.
“There are literally dozens of models and processes they could use for the search process,” he said.
Hiring a national firm could cost as much as $35,000, Nadeau said. Using a state group, like the Maine Municipal Association, could cost $5,000.
“Or we could do it in house, using our own staff to run the ads and review the resumes,” Nadeau said.
Once they begin interviews, councilors could meet with individual candidates by themselves or with an appointed committee. They can choose to make candidates names public, or they can keep them to themselves.
Nadeau said his decision about seeking the administrator’s job permanently hinges on Tuesday’s executive session.
“If we can resolve those contract issues Tuesday night, hopefully then I can make a statement,” Nadeau said.
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