Ellsworth Politics (Bangor, Hancock: best city, employment, university)

[kathcas]

Finance director going to be offered city manager job.
This is truly unbelievable!!

A town with a population of over 7000 and a significant amount of economic development issues and projects and our city council didn't deem it necessary or important enough to go through a search process to find the best candidate available for our next city manager!! Is this the "good ole boy network" at work? Ellsworth is the primary region’s trading center and services about 60,000 people, as well as 4 million tourists each year.

I quote an news article explaining the former city manager's departure..."We started these talks early in the year,” said Fortier. “Steve has done a good job for the city. We would like a bit more hands on for engineering type details. Steve is unwilling to do that.” When asked what type of engineering work a city manager would need to do, Manager Gunty said the development projects on Beckwith Hill require more expertise in engineering than he is willing to acquire."

I have nothing against Michelle Beal but we sent the former manager packing because he didn't have enough engineering expertise and yet we are willing to offer the very same job to an accountant? What are her credentials? How does the council not know that there may have been dozens of other managers more highly qualified and holding masters degrees in public administration and having economic development expertise?

I and other citizens are wanting to know what was the reasoning behind this selection? What was the criteria you based your selection on? It is offensive to the taxpayers of Ellsworth that you didn't go through a professional process of advertising the position, interviewing potential candidates and even allowing public input as to who the community wanted their next city manager to be. The city council needs to explain themselves.

[mollysmiles]

sounds like you should be submitting that to the Ellsworth American. I have no idea what "her" credentials are, but obviously she's willing to learn what the former manager wasn't or she wouldn't have the job--or maybe she all ready knows the subject. There must be an article somewhere where it states her qualifications.

[Acadianlion]

Actually, the City of Ellsworth has tried to go through the "proper" process of hiring a city manager. Everytime they do this, someone on the Council gets mad and the process of firing the city manager is begun, and the whole dance starts over. Michelle Beal is fully qualified because she has been in Ellsworth long enough to know how to tip toe around the incompetant boobs who are elected and reelected to the City Council. She is an amazingly competant person who will probably be the best city manager in Ellsworth's history.

The only surprise here is that she would actually want to deal with the foolishness that is Ellsworth's city politics.

Basically being city manager in Ellsworth is about a two year job. The manager is then either burned out completely, or just fired for obscure political reasons. I hope that Michelle salts away a bunch of money so that she can retire to Costa Rica when the Council fires her in two years.

Ellsworth has been shooting itself in the foot for generations. My grandfather used to raille against the foolishness of the City politicians, so it is quite likely something that is in the water.

[DavidoftheNorth]

I would guess that Ellsworth is now in a position to succeed (economically) in spite of itself. There's too much do re me in the region. Maybe "foolproof" is an almost appropriate characterization. See this article in today's BDN: Large retail development likely will change the face of Hancock County's hub

This is the key: "James McConnon, an economics professor at the University of Maine, calls the phenomenon "pull factor," which refers to the rate at which a retail center draws shoppers. He said Ellsworth’s is the highest in the state among cities its size."
source: article above

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by DavidoftheNorth

I would guess that Ellsworth is now in a position to succeed (economically) in spite of itself. There's too much do re me in the region. Maybe "foolproof" is an almost appropriate characterization. See this article in today's BDN: Large retail development likely will change the face of Hancock County's hub

This is the key: "James McConnon, an economics professor at the University of Maine, calls the phenomenon "pull factor," which refers to the rate at which a retail center draws shoppers. He said Ellsworth’s is the highest in the state among cities its size."
source: article above

Looks like that might be good for me...businesses use computers, which means they'll need people to maintain them. Be a longer commute than I'd like, but...

[deerislesmile]

A trip to Ellsworth now is... scary. (And I'm not talking summer traffic- the sprawl and traffic flow is horrible). Everybody down this way used to automatically go to Ellsworth for "big city" supplies , but now many people just go to Bangor instead to avoid the hassle of manuvering Ellsworth. Sorry- off topic...

I think that a proper search should have happened (aren't they a EEO? Don't they HAVE to advertise any position like that? Or vote? or something?), but if she pulls Ellsworth out of the circus mode it's been in for a few years, all the more power to her. If she doesn't, it's not like Ellsworth doesn't know how to oust a leader or two....

[msina]

I like "The Big Chicken Barn" in Ellsworth for all kinds of kitchen stuff. They have terrific resteraunt quality cooking gear, and books that are hard to find.

[kathcas]

Hey...good point of the EEO, but of course, the city web page is horrible and hard to get any info from. Most progressive cities hire search firms or consultants because councilors are power or ego-driven and not all that bright. (Idiots with an agenda)...The counsultants provide the brain power and skill in finding a good fit for the city or a good manager to fix what is broken or keep things moving in a positive momentum. I would find it hard to believe that Beal (probably a bookkeeper or accountant) has engineering experience or economic development experience in her background. That is apparently why they sent Gunty down the highway...because he lacked that kind of experience. Or was it an excuse or smokescreen??

I wouldn't be suprised to find out that the city did break a few laws by not advertising the position and going through the proper selection process. An educated council would also provide the opportunity for citizens to comment on what they wanted in a new manager. The council totally shut us out on that aspect.

There really are a lot of important issues on the horizon and it would be well worth it to take the time to find a qualified city manager. Preferably one that has a masters degree in public admin. There are so many laws and so many constant changes in government and these guys/gals have to constantly keep up with the changes by attending seminars and training on top of already having attended six years of college.

C'mon..do we want urban sprawl, traffic problems, parking problems, etc...., or do we want controlled and targeted growth with a master plan to address the infrastructure needs as they develop. I don't think a bookkeeper can handle this. I truly don't.

PS..I also sent my letter/concerns to the city clerk to distribute to the council. Let's just see what happens with that one!!

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by kathcas

Hey...good point of the EEO, but of course, the city web page is horrible and hard to get any info from. Most progressive cities hire search firms or consultants because councilors are power or ego-driven and not all that bright. (Idiots with an agenda)...The counsultants provide the brain power and skill in finding a good fit for the city or a good manager to fix what is broken or keep things moving in a positive momentum. I would find it hard to believe that Beal (probably a bookkeeper or accountant) has engineering experience or economic development experience in her background. That is apparently why they sent Gunty down the highway...because he lacked that kind of experience. Or was it an excuse or smokescreen??

I wouldn't be suprised to find out that the city did break a few laws by not advertising the position and going through the proper selection process. An educated council would also provide the opportunity for citizens to comment on what they wanted in a new manager. The council totally shut us out on that aspect.

There really are a lot of important issues on the horizon and it would be well worth it to take the time to find a qualified city manager. Preferably one that has a masters degree in public admin. There are so many laws and so many constant changes in government and these guys/gals have to constantly keep up with the changes by attending seminars and training on top of already having attended six years of college.

C'mon..do we want urban sprawl, traffic problems, parking problems, etc...., or do we want controlled and targeted growth with a master plan to address the infrastructure needs as they develop. I don't think a bookkeeper can handle this. I truly don't.

PS..I also sent my letter/concerns to the city clerk to distribute to the council. Let's just see what happens with that one!!

Since I live in the Ellsworth area (but not IN Ellsworth), I have been thinking about this thread quite a bit.

While I agree that the ultimate way for the City of Ellsworth to find and hire a new city manager would be to advertise for the position, I suggest that you review the previous history of the position over the past ten years. The City in fact has done just what has been suggested, and in each case, the search has hired managers with excellent credentials, and the City Council has eventually terminated their employment at great cost.

Why is that?

Well, the reason is that for good or evil, the Ellsworth City Council prefers to run the city by itself, and the city manager is NOT the chief executive officer of the city, but a person who executes the council's directives. These directives change from council meeting to council meeting. I suggest that you read the job description of the City Manager. It is very clear by it and the recent history of the City Manager position, how the City Council expects the city to function. The past two managers were true, professional city managers, and each one was fired without cause, but at the whim of the council's political process.

Michelle Beal has performed all of the functions of the manager's office for years, is certainly knowledgeable of the city's systems and departments and their personnel. She is a known quantity and has a vested interest in the City established over a long period of time. As a functioning daily manager of operations, she is absolutely the best choice to be selected to run the city.

Unfortunately, what will probably happen is that she will be chosen, may well decide that the big money is worth the chance, and then she will take the job. Two years down the road, the Council will decide to fire her, and the city will lose not only a fine manager, but a nearly irreplaceable city employee.

As I said before, I think it is in the water.

[corgis]

[quote=deerislesmile;1504819]A trip to Ellsworth now is... scary. (And I'm not talking summer traffic- the sprawl and traffic flow is horrible). Everybody down this way used to automatically go to Ellsworth for "big city" supplies , but now many people just go to Bangor instead to avoid the hassle of manuvering Ellsworth. Sorry- off topic...

I agree completely that the urban sprawl and traffic flow is terrible.