Handling of Position Riles Councilors

(This article appeared in the 8/4/10 issue of the Sisters Nugget Newspaper)

By Bill Mintiens EDCO (Economic Development for Central Oregon) has taken the reins and posted an advertisement in several publications, including The Nugget, for Sisters' part-time economic development manager. The ads began appearing Thursday, July 22. The ads state that "EDCO seeks the services of a results-driven professional services independent contractor to fill a part-time manager role for Sisters." The Sisters City Council budgeted and approved $30,000 for the 2010/2011 fiscal year for a part-time economic development manager. The fiscal year started on July 1. EDCO directs people to a more detailed online position description at www.edcoinfo.com, stating that "the independent contractor will provide staffing of the Sisters Business & Attraction Team (SBART) and coordinate with the City of Sisters and EDCO to provide economic development services for the greater Sisters Country area. This 10-month, $30,000 contract-for-services period begins September 1, 2010, and ends June 30, 2011, and will be paid in equal monthly installments by EDCO with funding from the City of Sisters." The need for the position, the actual position description, and the reporting structure have been controversial for several months. The council, wanting clarification on the duties, responsibilities, and reporting structure of the position, turned to Roger Lee of EDCO for assistance. When asked if all the city councilors had reviewed and agreed to EDCO's recently advertised position description (including reporting structure, office location, etc.), Mayor Lon Kellstrom said, "No, they haven't. My choice was to keep the council out of it in favor of an arm's-length relationship in the hiring of the economic development director. We need an arm's-length arrangement, through EDCO, to keep the council out of trouble. We don't want to be accused of using public funds to hire a 'friend' of the council." The mayor was referring to Mac Hay, SBART volunteer chairperson, clearly a leading candidate for this new position. The mayor added, "We decided to move ahead with the posting and hiring process based on the strength of Steve Bryant's (Sisters city attorney) assessment of EDCO's independent contractor agreement (also found on the EDCO Web site listing)." The mayor's decision to move ahead hasn't set well with two councilors. "How can they advertise for a position that has not been approved by the council or the EDCO board? Puzzling," said Councilor Sharlene Weed. "Looks to be a bit of 'cart before the horse' going on. I have not seen a job description, reporting structure, measurable outcomes, etc. I was very surprised that the position was included in the list of items that the city manager would be authorized to initiate during council's recess (ending September 9). This list was handed to council at the last minute, with no time to review. It appears that, for some reason, the mayor did not want the full council to weigh in on this issue." Council President Bill Merrill was similarly surprised. "This is all news to me," he said. "As far as I can recall, the council as a whole has never been briefed on any of this. The only job description I have seen is the one Patty Vandiver presented on May 6 to the budget committee. In that, she indicated that the director would be the chairperson for SBART. "The EDCO piece indicates that the person will be an independent contractor who '...will provide staffing of the SBART and coordinate with the City of Sisters and EDCO.' The Independent Contractor Agreement referred to at the bottom of the piece states 'The independent contractor will be free from direction and control...' but indicates EDCO will specify results. Whatever all that and more means, I haven't the faintest," Merrill said. Commenting on the entire process of selecting, interviewing, and the eventual reporting structure, Mayor Kellstrom added, "It's unlikely that the person will report to the council because we're not economic development people. The interviewing panel will be two or three people from EDCO and a couple of people from Sisters." Regardless of the person or firm chosen, it could be as many as four months into the fiscal year before measurable goals are defined for the position. The independent contractor form states: "Specific performance measures and deadlines for the 10-month period of this agreement will be developed within the first 60 days following execution of this agreement with the contractor, representatives of SBART and EDCO with review and/or input by the Sisters City Council." That leaves July through (potentially) October without a paid person concentrating on economic development challenges. "It just took a lot longer to formulate the position on EDCO's part and to cover all the legal aspects," said Mayor Kellstrom. "The good thing about it, though, is that Mac (Hay) is still doing his SBART stuff."