Hiring controversy spills into council meeting

This article was published in the 11/3/10 Nugget Newspaper

By Bill Mintiens City Councilor Sharlene Weed pressed City Manager Eileen Stein for answers regarding the controversial hiring process for Sisters' economic development manager last Thursday evening during the regular Sisters City Council meeting. She didn't get any. And she's not the only one pressing for answers. Weed has been pressing the city council for several months over what she considers the lack of transparency with the hiring of Sisters' new Economic Development Manager Mac Hay. Widely reported, the entire hiring process - position description, solicitation of candidates, interview panel members, and final recommendation - was outsourced to EDCO (Economic Development for Central Oregon) by Mayor Lon Kellstrom. Mayor Kellstrom purposely kept all other city council members entirely out of the process citing a "need to keep the council at arm's length so as not to appear to have hired a friend of the council." During the "other business" portion of the council meeting Weed admonished Stein for not replying promptly to the questions sent to her by Mike Morgan, also present at the meeting Thursday evening. "They were just two simple questions, not public records requests that he was asking for. And you didn't respond to the questions. Not responding is not OK," stated Weed. Morgan, along with Ed Protas, has been a vocal critic of the hiring process at past council meetings. Both men have sent several emails to Stein requesting "public records" information. Stein stated that she felt she had addressed their public records requests. "I was not 'not responding' to the request. I took the tack that these were public records requests; there's a $100 deposit required before we can proceed to figure out the total cost," said Stein. Initially Morgan had indicated he wanted certain public records, subsequently boiling his request down to two yes/no questions for Stein for which he believed no records were required. He received no response to these questions. Pressing Stein, Weed said, "The point is we just need to respond." The two questions were: "Was there a board resolution delegating the council's powers and responsibilities as the contract review board to EDCO per paragraph 2.32.020 of the contracting ordinance?" And "Did the city manager set selection criteria per 2.32.120 of the contracting ordinance?" Morgan read both of the questions aloud during the "visitors communication" portion of the council meeting Thursday evening. Morgan added "Oregon Public Policy requires transparency in government. We seem to have a mayor, supported by two other councilors, that disagrees with that policy and the laws of this state that effect that policy." Councilor Weed asked Stein directly, "Did you receive anything in writing concerning EDCO's recommendation (of Mac Hay)? To which Stein replied "No, just Mac's résumé." Stein deferred answers to other questions to the city's attorney Steve Bryant. The furor over the hiring process does not seem to be diminishing, even though Hay's position as an independent contractor has begun. Councilor Weed's final remarks on the situation were, "I feel like we made a mistake (about the hiring process); we need to tell the truth so that the public doesn't think there are shenanigans going on." No other councilors spoke on the issue. Mayor Kellstrom was out of town.

Hay tapped for Economic Development job

This is the Sisters Talk podcast with guest Mac Hay.

(This article was published in the 10/6/2010 Nugget Newspaper) by Bill Mintiens

Mac Hay will be Sisters' part-time Economic Development Manager. EDCO (Economic Development for Central Oregon), after culling down the applicants to four, recommended Hay to the council. The recommendation was passed on before the council's regular workshop last Thursday. Councilors voted 4-1, with Councilor Sharlene Weed dissenting, to accept the recommendation. Hay was a leading candidate for the job, presently serving as the volunteer chair of the SBART (Sisters Business Attraction & Retention Team), a volunteer group of area business people. Hay is looking forward to the challenge. "The energy and creativity of our community is needed to make this effort of economic vitality and stability a success. Together, we have the passion, talent and resources to create an even more vibrant community. I look forward to working with the citizens of Sisters to retain jobs, attract businesses with sustainable jobs and add to an economy that has tremendous potential," said Hay. Although the recommendation of Hay was no surprise to those following the process, the city council has wrangled over the matter for several months. The need for the position, the recruiting process, and the position's scope of work have been controversial since last spring. The economic development manager's statement of work reads: "Contractor shall develop specific performance measures and deadlines for the period of this agreement (in consultation with the Sisters City Manager and as approved by the Sisters City Council) within the first 30 days following the execution of this agreement." During last Thursday's regular council meeting, Councilor Weed aggressively challenged the hiring process, the lack of transparency with the public, and the scope of work for the position. "I've never seen anything like this. I can't imagine, in my job (Sisters Habitat for Humanity Executive Director), hiring someone and then asking them to develop their own performance measures," said Weed. Weed was referring to her repeated requests for the council to discuss and create measurable "deliverables and benchmarks" to be written into the statement of work. Similar positions in Prineville and Redmond have measurable goals and benchmarks. Council candidate David Asson, speaking during the visitors communication portion of Thursday's regular council meeting, said: "I'm troubled that it's taken five months to write an agreement. Here it is September 30 and you're voting on an agreement that is supposed to start tomorrow. I personally think the independent contractor designation won't fly. Pushing it through now does not make sense to me. If there's any way to spend a few more days to address this I think you should." Following the meeting Asson added, "The city is going to spend $30,000 on this program. We need this kind of economic development, but I personally think the program needs a lot more money than that to be successful. If we blow this $30,000 we may not get community support next time around." Budget committee member Gwen Chapman said, "I am a bit confused as to how the city could have recruited for this contractor before the services to be provided and performance expectations were decided on by the council." Back in July EDCO was asked by Mayor Kellstrom to "take the reins" regarding the position description, hiring process, and interview panel. Neither city councilors nor city staff were involved in that decision. "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," Mayor Kellstrom said last July. "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." That "friend" was Mac Hay. Concerned that the council and taxpaying residents were not included in the process of choosing Hay, Councilor Weed, last Thursday evening, asked Mayor Kellstrom several direct questions. "Why were councilors excluded from this process, and why do we not know who the candidates were, or who sat on the interviewing panel? Was anyone from Sisters represented on that panel?" asked Weed. Mayor Kellstrom, shrugging his shoulders, indicated as he had before, that he made the choice to "keep the council at arm's length from the process" and "I don't know who was on the interviewing panel." Weed asked Hay, sitting in the audience, who was on his interviewing panel. Hay took a moment and answered, "I don't feel like I'm the one to divulge that information." Stepping into the conversation, City Attorney Steve Bryant said, "Why not have Eileen (Stein, Sisters city manager) e-mail EDCO and ask them? They may tell you or they may not." Weed said she would vote no on EDCO's recommendation because of her concerns with the process. Councilor Pat Thompson defended the statement of work and said he was comfortable with the process. "We have to expect a general statement of work (versus specific deliverables) because we don't know what to expect going forward," he said. "I think this statement of work does a good job and, frankly, we need a man in the trenches right now." Commenting on the entire process of recruiting for the position, Thompson said, "At no time did I not understand what was going on. This (hiring for this position) is the logical next step to keep our city on the right path."

Independent Contractor will fill City Position

(Published in the 9/15/2010 issue of the Nugget Newspaper) By Bill Mintiens The Sisters City Council on September 8, in their first regular workshop following a month-long recess, decided that the economic development manager's position will be filled by an independent contractor hired by the city. The manager will not be a direct city employee. The position will also not fall under EDCO's (Economic Development for Central Oregon) banner. Although the printed workshop agenda listed discussion about the "Economic Development Services Agreement," many assumed the workshop would be an "unveiling" of EDCO's recommendation for the economic development manager. It wasn't. EDCO was assigned, earlier this summer, the task of writing the position description and independent contractor agreement, posting the listing, interviewing the twelve candidates that applied, and submitting a recommendation to the council. None of the five councilors were involved in any of those steps, nor were they aware of the candidates or members of the interviewing panel. EDCO directed people to an online position description (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 $30,000 will come from the City of Sisters' budget and is intended to cover the independent contractor's wages and all expenses. City Manager Eileen Stein began the workshop with a spreadsheet laying out for councilors the positives and negatives of the position's reporting structure. She wanted councilors to decide if the position status should be "employee" or "independent contractor" and whether the position should report to the City of Sisters or EDCO. A majority of the discussion centered on the risk of legal entanglements. If the manager became a city employee, the city would be responsible for an on-the-job injury or an unemployment claim. The city would also be responsible for payroll and other employment taxes for the position, not to mention supervising a position the city has little experience with. "We're not economic development people," said Mayor Lon Kellstrom. The council clearly wants a cap on the $30,000 budget - and no lawsuit down the road dealing with the basis for employment. At this time there are no other sources of funding for the position. The challenge for the council is how to provide oversight to a position that, at this point, doesn't have a direct reporting structure, measurable goals or receivables. Indicating a reporting structure, measurable benchmarks and goals could look to a court like an employee relationship. City Attorney Steve Bryant advised the councilors to be cautious. "Looking at the EDCO independent contractor agreement, it sure looks like the 'independent contractor' is more of an employee, not an independent contractor. If you really want accountability with the position, make the person an employee," said Bryant. Early in the discussion it appeared that Mayor Kellstrom was in favor of the manager becoming an employee. "Based on Steve's (Bryant) comments, I suggest that the independent contractor route is very difficult," said Kellstrom. Councilor Weed felt there was a simple test for determining whether the person should be an employee or independent contractor. "Seems to me that we need to determine what we want this person to do, then determine whether it's an employee or independent contractor relationship," she said. Councilors Bogart and Thompson both agreed with Council President Bill Merrill that the person should be an independent contractor. "I agree with Bill, we can still have oversight (of the position)," said Bogart. "I'm concerned with how much an employee would cost, what with roll-up costs for employees these days," said Thompson. Mayor Kellstrom, mulling the pros and cons, said, "But if we don't like what's going on and we try to direct the person, that's when we could cross the line (into an employee relationship)." The mayor asked City Attorney Bryant what he could do. "If we tighten-up the independent contractor's agreement to avoid employment claims, can we still do it?" Bryant replied, "Just determine, as a council, the receivables you expect and I'll write them into an independent contractor agreement. I can make the agreement as tight as possible, but I can't provide any guarantees. There's always an inherent risk that the person will claim to be an employee," said Bryant. Nearing the end of the hour-long workshop, Councilor Weed offered a suggested set of deliverables for the position. These included surveying the entire business community, two or three community-wide meetings, and creating a central information location for business grants and loans. "There was really not enough time to hash things out. I plan to draft a message to Lon (Kellstrom) and Eileen (Stein) outlining my concerns and ideas for the position," said Weed following the workshop. Roger Lee, EDCO executive director, attended the meeting. "Our economic development managers (Prineville, Redmond, Madras) have deliverables which include the number of new jobs created, number of new companies, etc., within a given year," he said. Mayor Kellstrom asked attorney Bryant to draft an independent contractor's agreement by September 30, with an effective date of the contract October 1, 2010. He also asked Bryant to look into including language that offers one- and two-year options. The mayor is expecting EDCO to have completed interviews with the 12 applicants before September 30, bringing their recommendation to the council by that time. Kellstrom indicated the goal was to have a person "on board" by October 1.

Twelve Apply for Sisters Economic Development Manager Job

(This article appears in the 8/24/10 issue of the Nugget Newspaper)

By Bill Mintiens As of the deadline on Friday, August 6, EDCO (Economic Development for Central Oregon) received 12 applications/résumés from people interested in the position of part-time economic development manager for Sisters, according to Erin Chaiet, EDCO operations manager. The Sisters City Council budgeted and approved $30,000 for the 2010/2011 fiscal year for the position. It will likely be at least the middle of September before a person (or firm) will be chosen to fill the position, an independent contractor's role, which runs through June, 2011. The need for the position, the actual position description, and the reporting structure have been controversial for several months. EDCO, having been asked by Mayor Kellstrom to "take the reins" regarding the position description, hiring process, and interview panel, began posting ads Thursday, July 22. EDCO directed people to a 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." When asked if all the city councilors had reviewed and agreed to EDCO's advertised position description (including reporting structure, goals, 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, volunteer chair of SBART (Sisters Business Acquisition & Retention Team), one of the 12 candidates for the position. Councilor Sharlene Weed is not happy with Mayor Kellstrom's actions regarding the hiring process for Sisters' part-time economic development manager. "I spoke with Lon (Mayor Kellstrom) and he maintains his position that it was fine to move forward because the council would have an opportunity to ask questions and give final approval (to EDCO's recommendation on a candidate)," she said. "I really don't understand why he has chosen this approach. I don't see what he gains. And... the town loses by not having a rich discussion of the possibilities and arriving at a fully fleshed-out plan for the position. Now it appears that a person will be hired prior to council's approval and we will be asked for a rubber stamp. It's disappointing." When asked about the people comprising the interview panel, Roger Lee, EDCO executive director, said, "Some of people we'd asked to be part of the interview panel have not been all available all on the same day so we've had to change the schedule several times and mix of volunteers. It is a difficult time of year for scheduling." Mayor Kellstrom said recently, "We (the council) purposely stayed out of the choosing of the panel." Councilor Weed is not impressed. "I asked Lon who was on the interview committee... he said he didn't know." EDCO funds and manages economic development director positions in Redmond, Prineville, and Madras. Successful programs in both Prineville (acquisition of the Facebook facility) and Redmond (Altrec, T-Mobile, and several other businesses) give EDCO experience and credibility with hiring and management. When asked about the delays in this hiring process, Roger Lee, in an e-mail dated August 19, wrote, "There are a number of unanswered questions including when the person/contractor will be available, the council's approval, etc. I don't see the timing as a big issue, other than the fact that we would prefer to be at this stage at the very start of the fiscal year (July 1); the schedule will just have to be revised and with it, potentially, the expenditure. If approved, we are hopeful that a start date would be established later in the month of September." Apparently no one's in a big hurry to help Sisters recover from our state-designated "severely distressed community" status. Acknowledging the delay, Mayor Kellstrom said, "It just took a lot longer to formulate the position on EDCO's part and to cover all the legal aspects. The good thing about it, though, is that Mac (Hay) is still doing his SBART stuff." The city council has been on recess this month. Their next scheduled workshop and regular council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 9. "We are planning on taking this up on September 9 in terms of accepting the agreement (independent contractor agreement) and discussing EDCO's suggested candidate for the position. EDCO will likely make an offer to a candidate on September 10," said Mayor Kellstrom. So the 12 candidates will be interviewed over the next few weeks, a top candidate (or firm) will be chosen, and that person (or firm) will be presented to the council on September. In an e-mail dated August 17 to Mayor Kellstrom, Councilor Weed asked, "Can you please explain to me why EDCO is proceeding with this when the position has never been approved by the city council? I have never seen a plan for this position. I would like to look at different options - including a discussion with the fellow who contacted me a couple weeks ago who said his consulting firm could provide concrete deliverables for our town for less than $30,000. Please stop this process until the council has had a chance to weigh in." Other city councilors had the opportunity to comment on these issues but declined to do so.

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."