Advertisement
Counteroffer puts council close to filling top post
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · May 25, 2017


A couple steps remain, but the City Council offered the city administrator job on Saturday and received a counteroffer Monday.


Mayor Roger Laughlin said the council will meet 5 p.m. Wednesday, likely in closed session, to review the counteroffer and a background check on their top candidate.

He said that should the city accept the counteroffer and find no problems with the background check, they could contact the candidate that night to verbally agree.

The council welcomed the two remaining candidates Friday for what turned into a two-hour tour of the city in a van which West Branch Ford let the city borrow, the mayor said. The candidates also met the various city department heads.

On Saturday, the two candidates met with City Finance Officer Gordon Edgar to review city finances prior to being called into a closed-session face-to-face interview with Callahan Municipal Consultant’s Pat Callahan, Laughlin and council members Brian Pierce, Colton Miller, Mary Beth Stevenson and Tim Shields.

The council interviewed the candidates May 4 over Skype, narrowed the list to four, then two dropped out. Of the two who remained, one candidate stood out as the council’s top pick.

Laughlin said the face-to-face interview on Saturday changed the council’s mind as to their top pick, but that both candidates remain strong.

In Saturday’s session, the council kept on the windows the same grey plastic sheeting used to keep the Skype interviews private.

The interviews included asking the candidates to pretend they were the city administrator, and given scenarios in which they would answer questions about, say, an ongoing project.

Before entering into closed session, Callahan said he would share with the council some of the comments made by department heads from the Friday session. Callahan said the department heads also ranked the candidates.

Callahan said he would also share what the candidates said about salary and benefits to help the council put together a package when making the job offer.

The consultant said he reviewed background and credit checks and saw nothing to eliminate either candidate from consideration.

One hint as to the identities of the candidates, whose names have not been made public, is a small one. Laughlin asked which candidate would be called in first, and Callahan, after a brief pause, said the “Illinois candidate.”

The new city administrator will replace Matt Muckler, who announced in late January he would take a job in Newton; his last day in West Branch was March 22 after 6 1/2 years in the position.