Plain City Council is working to find the person who will lead the village into the future.
During their meeting Monday, council members discussed the process by which they will seek and hire a new village administrator.
“This is our shot to get it right,” said Mayor Jody Carney.
Management Analyst Haley Lupton was appointed as Acting Village Administrator effective Oct. 25 following the resignation of Nathan Cahall.
Village officials intend to conduct an external search for candidates, though Lupton may apply as well. If Lupton is not hired to the position more permanently, she will resume her duties as management analyst.
Council member Michael Terry said he feels as though the search for the village’s new administrator should be “council-led.”
He noted that the village charter dictates that council has the authority to hire and remove the administrator.
He suggested creating an administrator search committee that would consist of three members: one council member, Carney and a village employee.
The employee would likely be Finance Director Renee Sonnett or Plain City Police Department Chief Dale McKee.
Carney said she has participated in several PCPD hiring cycles and commended McKee for the process established.
While no seats have been officially filled, Council member Lauren Giaimo volunteered to lead the group as the council representative. She said her professional background includes conducting candidate searches, interviewing and hiring.
Terry emphasized that the smaller committee would conduct preliminary steps like soliciting applications and vetting candidates.
From that point, he said all of council would be heavily involved in the interview process. He underlined that it would be council that ultimately decides upon the new village administrator and extends an offer of employment.
Council member Frank Reed said he would prefer that the administrator search committee is comprised of all six members of council.
Rucker said he feels any attempt to seat all of council on a separate committee would be “too cumbersome.”
He argued that having a quorum – four or more council members – requires a public meeting, according to Ohio law, which would restrict the six-member committee from discussing the hiring process in private.
“We’re going to be flirting with Sunshine Law violations the whole time,” Rucker said.
Reed argued, instead, that the three-member committee of a council member, the mayor and a village employee is not permitted by law to meet privately.
Attorney Doug Holthus, sitting in for Solicitor Paul Lafayette, disagreed with Reed.
He said all six council members could not form a committee to discuss the qualifications of individual applicants, but they could create the “parameters” for the administrator search committee.
From there, he said the smaller search committee would be charged with finding candidates that fit the criteria determined by council.
He emphasized that the committee could legally discuss options, but could not make a decision.
However, Holthus said he would like to consult with Lafayette before providing council with a definitive option for moving forward.
In other business:
– Council heard the first reading of a resolution to accept the compensation plan update, as well as the first reading of a resolution to accept the village’s 2022 budget. Both resolutions will appear before council for a vote at its next meeting, Nov. 22.
– Lupton reminded residents that the village is hosting a public forum at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the municipal building, 800 Village Blvd., to solicit feedback surrounding the pilot program that reduced parking in certain areas of Cooper Lane, Dickens Lane, Carriage Drive, Lantern Lane and Murlay Drive.