Wanted: communicator

By Cindy Landrum  

APRIL 23, 2010 10:00 a.m. (0)

A good communicator with extensive experience running a city.

A leader who does not feel the need to control everything and is willing to delegate responsibility to maximize the talent of city employees.

A person who “gets it.”

When Greenville starts a national search for its next city manager, those are some of the qualities city officials say they’ll be looking for. No timetable for the search has been set. Deputy City Manager John Castile has been pegged as interim city manager after

Bourey leaves on June. 30.

Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem David Sudduth said he is confident the city will be able to attract top-notch candidates.

“The most important thing to me is we take the time we need to find the right person,” he said. “Having John Castile serve as interim affords us that.”

Mayor Knox White said he personally prefers a city manager who has come from a larger community.

“They’ve seen more of the future for us,” he said.

And while extensive experience in city operations is important, White said he’ll be looking for somebody who grasps the vision of the city.

“We need somebody who can come to Greenville and totally gets it,” he said. “Urban planning and urban design is something that differentiates successful cities from the run-of-the-mill.”

The last time the city searched for a manager was during the construction of the Liberty Bridge and Falls Park.

White said he was struck by the different reactions of candidates to the project.

“There were those who could see how exciting it could be and there were those who looked at it and focused on engineering issues,” he said. “In my experience, just having a degree in public administration is a long way from fitting the bill.”

The new manager should be somebody who can make each member of the city council feel like they’re being listened to, he said.

“What I’ve learned over the last several years is that if that doesn’t happen, it begins to undermine our effectiveness in terms of carrying out projects. We’re all about the next big project.”

Sudduth said the new city manager should be a delegator, not somebody who needs to control everything.

“I am of the opinion that the higher up in any organization a person rises, it’s less about technical ability and more about the ability to communicate, build teamwork and manage a staff of highly-trained technical people,” he said. “My expectation is the city manager will be able to maximize the talent in key leadership positions.”

Amy Ryberg Doyle, the only council member who voted against accepting Bourey’s resignation, said she wants the next city manager to be a visionary who really understands the complexities of a growing city and has extensive experience working in the public sector.

“Frankly, I’m looking for another Jim Bourey,” she said.

Gaye Sprague said she plans to research what makes a good city manager, including surveying friends who work for other cities. She said she didn’t want to disclose specific qualities she thinks the next city manager should have, saying she didn’t want it to appear those were qualities that the current city manager lacked.

The rest of the council either could not be reached or did not want to comment.