City Councilors Outraged By Aborted City Manager Search Process

Friday, September 19, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

How long can Worcester convince Augustus to stay on as City Manager?

As the city of Worcester moves forward with bringing back the man who initially said that his stint as city manager was only temporary, at least a few city councilors have been openly outraged with the blowing up a city manager search process that began about six months ago.

While support for interim city manager Ed Augustus throughout the city is extremely strong, some city councilors are upset that they led a group of likely candidates through the search process, just to tell the final three candidates that they are not needed.

“This has nothing to do with Ed and all to do with me being ready to vote; I thought that Oscar Rodriguez was the best candidate,” said Konnie Lukes at last Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “I would like to say publically that I am disappointed – not in any person in particular – but this city is going to take a while to recover from this. In all my years of public service, this is the biggest fiasco I have ever seen; I feel bad for everyone involved.”

Beginning in April, the city of Worcester began to bring in potential candidates for the Worcester city manager position, narrowing the field from 30 candidates to three finalists: Oscar Rodriguez, Peter Graczykowski, and David Moore. After none of the three candidates sticking out as a clear winner, there was a massive outcry to try to bring back Augustus once more.

The Correct Process

Much has been made of the process – or rather the abandoning of the process – in selecting a new person for city manager. Those who are upset decry the decision to revert back to Augustus because not only had he had already turned down the job, but also the city spent a lot of time to find someone new, bringing in finalists from as far as New Mexico to potentially take the position.

According to city councilor Philip Palmieri, the city council should have at least taken a vote prior to taking the Ed Augustus approach, as there could have been a group consensus for one of the three finalists.

While there has certainly been outrage about the process in which the city council has decided to go, City Councilor Gary Rosen points out that the City Charter in no way describes how a new city manager must be chosen, it is just something that has to be done.

“We are now down to three finalists, and I haven’t heard a consensus decision about any of the three,” said Rosen. “Some would like us to believe that our hands are tied with one of those three finalists, but that doesn’t make any sense. All three finalists had pros and cons, but if one stood out then I feel that we would be choosing them.”

Lacking Minority Candidates

Another bit of criticism for the city manager search is that there were not more women candidates or candidates of color brought into the mix.

Rodriguez – one of the few candidates of color brought in – may have made it to the final three, but overall there was a lack of diversity in the selection process, something that is not reflective of the changing culture within the city of Worcester.

City Councilor Sarai Rivera was one of the many city councilors that has expressed her disappointment in the lack of diversity, but also pointed out that the city shouldn’t be looking for minority or woman finalists just because of their gender or skin color; its all about bringing in the candidate that can properly do the job.

“Our city is on the edge of moving forward,” said City Councilor Kate Toomey. “My only disappointment is that there were not more women or people of color. I was really hoping for more diversity.”

Related Slideshow: Top Challenges Currently Facing Worcester

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Economic Development

Paul Giorgio, Publisher of Pagio, Inc. and a GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

“One of the largest challenges is economic development and making sure that we are continuing to bring in new businesses. We also need to integrate neighborhoods into the larger city plan to make sure that no small businesses are being left behind.”

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Transportation

Tim McGourthy, Executive Director, Worcester Regional Research Bureau

“We need to expand our public transportation options as well as out commuter rail service. Additionally, we need to bring more flights into our airport.”

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Public Safety

Kate Toomey, Worcester City Councilor

“One challenge that our city is facing is working on public safety. We need to ensure that we stay on top of the drug and heroin addiction problems.”

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Prioritizing Education

John Monfredo, Worcester School Committee member and a GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

“The new city manager will have to understand what is happening with education. The city has maintained a minimum budget of education; will the city look to better fund education?”

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Community Involvement

Sarai Rivera, Worcester City Councilor

"Getting to know the different departments, neighrborhoods, and communities will be important for the next city manager. It's a lot to take in; it's a lot of learning and doing as you learn."

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City Accountability

Bill McCarthy, Worcester Representative, Massachusetts Republican Party

"The city manager needs to hold all city employees accountable. We want to make sure that money is being spent wisely and that departments are being run smoothly."

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City Infrastructure

Tim McGourthy, Executive Director, Worcester Regional Research Bureau

"Improving the city's infrastructure is just one of the many ways that Worcester can continue to drive our economic growth."

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Lowering the Tax Rate

Michael Gaffney, Worcester City Councilor

“We really have to work on our business tax rate. Many malls and businesses are on the outskirts of Worcester because other cities’ tax rates are half of what Worcester’s are.”

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Retaining Local Talent

Paul Giorgio, Publisher of Pagio, Inc. and a GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

“I think that one of the challenges that Worcester must work on for a better future is the retention of college students, which all goes back to economic development of the city.”

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Bring Taxable Business to Worcester

Bill McCarthy, Worcester Representative, Massachusetts Republican Party

“The city manager should work to bring more taxable businesses to Worcester, since there are so many hospitals and schools in Worcester that aren’t taxed. The city manager should also work to reward local businesses that have been in Worcester for a long time.”