Members of the committee charged with finding Portland’s next city manager agreed Monday to hire a New England-based consultant as they try to fill the top administrative post by next summer.

Eager to begin the search to replace former City Manager Mark Rees, committee members agreed to ask for proposals from four New England consulting firms that help municipalities with executive searches. The committee would then select a final consultant after hearing presentations during its next meeting, scheduled for Oct. 27.

Three of the firms – the Maine Municipal Association, Eaton Peabody Consulting Group in Augusta and Municipal Resources Inc. in Meredith, New Hampshire – had submitted unsolicited offers to help Portland fill the city manager position. The fourth firm, Bennett Yarger Associates in Scituate, Massachusetts, was added to the list by committee members.

This is the second time in four years that Portland is launching a city manager search. City Councilor Nicholas Mavodones and other committee members said they wanted to avoid what they now portray as problems or disappointing results from their last experience with the Florida-based firm Colin Baenziger & Associates, which was paid $21,500 to help with the search.

“I think we want a consultant who has a good understanding of Maine and New England,” Mavodones said. “That doesn’t mean they don’t do things nationally, … but they know how governments work in the Northeast.”

Rees resigned in early September after roughly three years on the job. He maintained a much lower profile than his predecessors due, at least in part, to the fact that the city’s first popularly elected mayor in roughly 90 years took on the role of the city’s top spokesman. But Rees never seemed to click with some councilors.

Members said they want to make sure the City Council reaches consensus on the qualities they want in the next manager and to clearly convey those to the consultant. Councilor Jill Duson said she “found herself at odds” with the last consultant because the committee had not been clear enough about its expectations.

It was unclear Monday how wide a net the committee members hope to cast as they search for a new manager. What was clear, however, is that Acting City Manager Sheila Hill-Christian enjoys strong support from City Council members and others. Hill-Christian joined the city staff as deputy city manager in February 2013.

“We are in a situation where we have an acting city manager that I think people have a lot of confidence in,” Mayor Michael Brennan said. As a result, Brennan said, the city has the luxury of not feeling rushed to fill the post before next spring’s budget-writing season.

Robert Hains, a Portland resident who attends most City Council meetings, repeated an earlier suggestion that the council wait to launch a search after seeing how things go with Hill-Christian filling the city manager role. If everyone is happy with the current arrangement, Hains said, the city could allow Hill-Christian to find her successor as deputy city manager.

“I think you are going through an exercise that is unnecessary and will be moderately expensive,” Hains said.

Duson suggested that she has heard similar suggestions from city employees but pointed out that Hill-Christian has not officially declared she wants the job. But Duson said the council would likely have to discuss how to proceed in such an instance in closed-door executive session.

Kevin Miller can be contacted at 791-6312 or at:

kmiller@pressherald.com

Twitter: KevinMillerPPH

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