Back out of the ditch, get on the road

Alex Davy writes in the April 9,2008 Lillie Newspapers And they're off! (Kind of): Maplewood's search for a new city manager begins

Last Monday, during an extended City Council session carried over from March 24, the search for a new Maplewood city manager finally began.

"The moment has come to implement that which has been talked about for months," Mayor Diana Longrie said at the start of the discussion. "It's time to start looking for a permanent city manager."

In her five-page memo introducing the agenda item, Longrie outlined a number of key components that the City Council will have to tackle as the search moves forward. First and foremost, Longrie said, is hiring a manager solely on the basis of experience and qualifications, casting the net as far and wide as possible.
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The proposal [to do it themselves] was met with skepticism on the part of the rest of the council.
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Juenemann added an independent arbitrator is crucial. "If you don't go to an outside agent, you can customize (the search process), but you can't depoliticize it."