More than two months after George Kolb announced his resignation, the Wichita City Council will take a substantive step today toward replacing him by approving a recruitment profile for a new city manager. If all goes as proposed, the council could conduct interviews in early May and the new manager could take over from interim City Manager Ed Flentje on July 3. The wish list to be considered today is quite specific, stating a preference for 15 years of management experience in local government or something comparable, and a master’s degree in public administration or a related field.
The seven other bullet points say a lot about the council’s recent experience, not just with Kolb but with longtime City Manager Chris Cherches before him, and reflect a desire to find a manager good for business: starting with “superior communication skills, including listening skillsâ€; calling for the “ability to inspire trust and confidence in government through vision, accountability and transparencyâ€; and concluding with an “unblemished record of personal integrity and ethical conduct.†That sounds about right, and Wichita is right to aim high. But no such wish list can anticipate all the city’s future needs. The challenge to council members is to know the next manager — the right next manager — when they see him or her. Otherwise, they could be going through this challenging process again before they know it.
11 Comments
They are missing one of the most important qualifications…
They must be from out of state, they must be from a big company and they cant have any common since.
Come on Council, anyone with above average intelligence can run this city. They don’t need 15 years of government management; they need to have run a company… This city would benefit from someone who is from the area, who is successful, and who is a long term resident.
Why not leave Ed Flentje in the job? He meets all of those qualifications. Why not one of the many retired lawyers or business matriarchs?
I agree Tony. Keep Flentje. He has the abilities; he is also a Wichitan.
I haven’t seen much indication our City Council has what it takes to make good decisions.
How about Wichitans revist the question of whether they really are best served by the council/city manager form of municipal government?
Want to make Wichita a “world class city?” De-emphasize ‘management’ in favor of ‘democracy’ as a civic virtue.
CF2K – actually I think that would also be best served by Flentje. Instead of bringing in a ‘CZAR’ hire a manager.
Why not have the mayor run the city? Also seems more cost effective
Tom Paine, that is what I believe CF2K is saying in his post about examining retention of the “council/manager” form of government. Now, I can make a number of arguments against doing away with that form of government, and I can make a number of arguments for doing away with that form of government. Which will you pay for?
People elect the mayor they dont have any say in who the city manager is
Wichita would do better to find a top assistant in a city where they do things right, e.g. Albuquerque or San Jose.
But the elitists will have nothing of it.
MrC, I concur in full with the opinion you posted.
The reason I like the idea of sticking with Flentje is that he sems to “know his place” as the hired manager rather than the decision-maker. I think we need those managerial skills as well as the continuity. However, he should also serve at the pleasure of the elected mayor and council.