A different kind of search

Ray Beck keeps thoughts about retirement to himself. He hasn’t announced plans to step down from public service, but when he does, the Columbia City Council will be looking at a different field of candidates than those from the 1985 search that ended in Beck’s hiring.

Few of them will have Beck’s training as an engineer and experience as a former public works director. Now, a majority of city managers receive training in public administration, a background that emphasizes building relationships with the council, county and community, said John Nalbandian, professor of public administration at the University of Kansas.

“There’s less deference these days to administrative expertise,” he said. “There’s more of a need to ground the expertise in community values. The expertise has to be more accessible to the community.”

Beck said the council has several options for finding his replacement. It could hire an agency to identify candidates, appoint a committee of citizens or use a combination of the two approaches. The council could also conduct a search itself. For a national search, consulting firms are usually employed.

“I’m just not going to speculate on what procedure might be used,” said Mayor Darwin Hindman, who would be responsible for the search were Beck to step down on his watch. Hindman said he thought it was inappropriate to discuss the process before Beck announces his retirement.

Sixth Ward Councilman Brian Ash and First Ward Councilwoman Almeta Crayton said they would expect a national search.

Jim Mercer, a national search consultant, said searches vary from city to city. After a city selects a headhunting firm, a normal search lasts about 45 days, he said. The headhunter visits the city for several days, interviewing the council and getting a feel for the community’s values and needs.

“This is the most important decision, probably, that the council will ever make,” said Chip Cooper, a member of PedNet. “I think that the council will take into account the broad spectrum of community interest.”

Cooper said he believes Hindman would appoint a citizens’ advisory committee to give input on the process.

“If the mayor appoints that group, I feel very confident that it will be representative of the entire community,” Cooper said.

Even though working with residents isn’t commonplace, consultants say they would welcome the experience.

“We would value the opportunity to work with a citizens’ committee,” Mercer said.

During the spring mayoral race, candidate John Clark said he would limit the search to managers with at least five years of experience in a rapidly growing city that is 25 percent to 50 percent more populous than Columbia.

Clark said he believes a change in city manager will lead to major changes in city government.

“Once you change a part of the system, the whole system will change,” Clark said.

Others, however, see benefits in continuity. Dan Simon, attorney for Philips tract developer Elvin Sapp, said that although Columbia’s current department heads don’t have city manager experience, he would prefer a candidate who is familiar with the city.

In Columbia, the Department of Public Works oversees such a variety of activities — sewers, trash pickup, streets, building inspections and the airport — that Simon said its director is a natural candidate.

“Lowell Patterson is a highly competent, qualified person and a great guy,” Simon said. “I would be in favor of giving him a shot at it.”

Patterson said he isn’t interested in city managing, though he would help during the transition.

“I’m a public works director. I’m a mechanic. I build things,” Patterson said. “The community needs a broader vision than a public works director usually, again, I say usually, brings to it.”

Beck is optimistic that the right candidate will be found and the city will prosper after his retirement.

“The challenge is to find a candidate that has as wide a base of experience as possible,” Beck said. “I think that the council will find a good manager. It will continue to be a great city.”