Yesterday saw two new “Actings” designated in Public Safety; Craig Berte will be the Acting Public Safety Director and Mark Howard will serve as the Acting Police Chief while we proceed with the hiring process for a new Public Safety Director. Both officers are very well-qualified to lead and manage in their respective roles. City Code 2-918(b)(2) would allow Chief Berte to serve in both roles during the search process, but on 3/7 the Council made clear its view that the Director position should be standalone and full-time -- that it shouldn't be a supplemental duty. For that reason, I believe it best to have an Acting Police Chief since it will be several months before a hiring decision for Public Safety Director is made.
The hiring process for the Public Safety Director has commenced; it is not a civil service position (though Police Chief is). We will have an interview process open to external candidates as well as internal. The current plan is for a Search Committee consisting of the Mayor Pro Tem (Councilor Harding), the Admin Committee Chair (Councilor Dunn), the three directors, and me to review all candidates and provide our opinions (and perhaps a formal recommendation) to the City Administrator for consideration. The Administrator will then send a recommended candidate to the Council via me, in accordance with City Code 2-918(a). As I’ve made clear to the council and staff, “Acting” or “Interim” positions are no guarantee that the same person will be selected for the permanent position, if they apply. The person is simply an administrative placeholder, and there may be reasons to go with a different candidate for the permanent position.
As I’ve been learning the ins and outs of the Mayor’s responsibilities these past few years, my political philosophy has grown to view that a Mayor’s most useful function is not to politically intercede on every issue, but to ensure direct oversight and accountability to the process. There are some times when by law or by necessity, the Mayor needs to intercede, but that shouldn’t be the norm. That’s why I’ve learned a lot from joining in on the Monday morning Director’s Meeting with the City Administrator, and sitting in on board and commission meetings. The mayor sets the tone and provides general direction, always mindful of the sense of the Council on these things too.
That said, in the case of the Public Safety Director position, my own preference for that position might be different than what’s recommended to me (not saying that will be the case, but just hypothetically). At the end of the day though, the City Administrator is responsible for the effective daily execution of local government, and the City Code is clear that the Administrator is the recommender. I believe I could legally send to council someone different than who the administrator recommends, but I think that’s a recipe for dysfunction. As it is, I’m confident that the Search Committee will provide excellent insights into the various candidates’ strengths and weaknesses, and their suitability for the Public Safety Director role, and I’ll have plenty of input into that process.
Writing these mini-essays helps clarify things in my mind, and I hope they’re useful to you, too. You might see things differently, and that’s okay, but at least you know where I’m coming from.
Thanks for reading to the end! Civics takes work, and I greatly appreciate that you're doing your part.