A

The Board of Mayor and Alderman came to a decision about how to proceed with the selection process for the hiring of the new City Administrator during its Monday night meeting.

As decided previously in last week’s special meeting, the board was to meet, according to the agenda, at 4:30 p.m. for a study session, however they didn’t arrive for the study session until 5 p.m.

“I want to clarify to make sure that I understood the process correctly,” said Alderman Daniel Berry to Mayor Ray Knowis, “What we had talked about, it was applications, we have the citizens committee and they would score based off of resume letter but my understanding is that it was never that they were going to narrow down [the applicants], it was that they were going to score and we would juxtaposed that with our own scoring and then we would narrow that down.”

“During the meeting, when we were discussing and voting upon the order of business that we would use to hire the city administrator,” said Alderman Kurt Glick, “Daniel was correct in saying it was never the Citizens Committee’s job to narrow down the list of applicants. It was always, and I even have it underlined here, it says ‘BoMA to review all applications and narrow the group to be interviewed. So that was supposed to be the task of the BoMA to do that.”

He also pointed out that they never outlined a specific number of applicants to narrow down, and said he was starting to get confused last week. Berry said he also started getting confused and wanted to clarify the process.

“I do not feel like the committee should have any input whatsoever selecting a group to be interviewed. I think that should come from us,” said Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Mathis, “I think we are the ones that need to do this. I think we need to take the applicants and read them all and look at them.”

“I agree with that,” said Glick, “I’ll just make an initial proposal and we could change it from there.”

He suggested that the board take time until the next meeting to review applications and narrow their opinions down to four names and write them out as a voting process.

“Well, I would have to go back and say,” said Knowis in response, “you’re the one that proposed this committee.”

“I did,” said Glick, “but the Citizens Committee weren’t directed properly. I don’t know who it was, and I’m not going to make any accusations. I know it wasn’t me, but I know what we voted upon was right here on the paper. Somebody gave the Citizens Committee the wrong information.”

Alderman Jenna Amacher said “Yes, let’s talk about where the boat got lost.”

“I wanted to know who wrote that agenda item?” she asked. Knowis said he did.

“Well, Mr. Mayor, I’m gonna have to say, when you approached me outside of this building after the last meeting, you were really confused as to why we wouldn’t want that agenda item or why that meeting got canceled. How this board, not you, this board decided to proceed forward, you’re saying that you deviated from that on purpose?” she asked.

Knowis said he discussed the process going forward with Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) representative Honna Rogers and she directed the committee, but was interrupted by Amacher.

“Who decided that the committee was going to make any selections, because that is not what the paper says,” she said. “They were supposed to evaluate and score the candidates. So why would you give that authority to Honna Rogers to deviate from this very specific plan, and then bring us an agenda item, knowing that this is not what we all agreed to do?” she asked. “This one’s on you, Mr. Mayor.”

Alderman Bobbie Wilson gave her thanks to the Citizens Committee for all of their work, and then Berry spoke again.

“I think we’re all clear,” Berry said, “can I proffer that we just move forward?”

After further discussion, the aldermen concluded the study session by establishing that they should each select a specific number of applicants to narrow down the list and then proceed with some sort of preliminary interview process.

Towards the end of the Aug. 14 meeting, after further back and forth discussion the board determined to each write down five names and narrow the selection down to four names based on votes.

“Taking five votes from seven people,” said Knowis, “It’s a fairly interesting outcome. I’d like for the city recorder to read the names and say the number of votes they got. You may also say who voted for who.”

City Recorder Lori Ashley read off the lists and stated which candidates got the most votes.

Per Ashley, Amacher voted for currently interim city administrator Kenneth Pearson, Jason Quick, Scott Collins, David Strahl and Sharon Wolz. Berry voted for Christopher Dorsey, Strahl, Scott Meszoros, Pearson and Quick. Wilson voted for Pearson, Quick, Collins, Richard Hough and Randall Smith. Knowis voted for Patrick Marsh, Dorsey, Meszoros, Pearson and Smith. Alderman Derick Mann voted for Collins, Pearson, Quick, Hough and Smith. Mathis voted for Marsh, Quick, Pearson, Strahl and Dorsey. Glick voted for Dorsey, Strahl, Meszoros, Pearson and Quick.

Ashley said that Pearson took the lead with votes from BoMA with seven total votes, Quick came up second with six and Dorsey and Strahl tied with four each.

BoMA then decided that the top four candidates would be interviewed over the course of three days starting Aug. 22 and ending on Aug. 24, which would include taking a tour of Tullahoma lead by department heads, and individual interviews on the last day.

Berry made the motion, with Glick seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously.