THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995            TAG: 9512300357
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                         LENGTH: Short :   49 lines

CHESAPEAKE TAKING ITS TIME TO FIND NEW MANAGER

The City Council is approaching its search for a new city manager so carefully that a new manager might not be named until the middle of 1996.

``We are taking our deliberate time with it,'' said Councilman W. Joe Newman.

Mayor William E. Ward said Friday that a replacement for ousted City Manager James W. Rein might not be named until June or July, after a nationwide search.

Two months after Rein's firing, the council has set no timetable for the search and has yet to choose a consultant to help with the process.

Ward said the search should begin in the first few months of 1996 with the selection of a consultant.

The city received seven bids from companies wanting to help select Chesapeake's next city manager. The council narrowed that list to two. Officials from the two firms will make presentations to the council on Jan. 16. Ward said the council will probably select one of the companies at that same meeting.

``We're not going to rush into this,'' said Ward. ``We're going to move expeditiously but, at the same time, not under pressure so that, in the final analysis, we can make a wise and prudent decision.

``When you rush to do things, you make premature decisions,'' said Ward. ``We may have the right candidate right here, but we have to look at all of our options.''

In the meantime, interim City Manager Clarence V. Cuffee is doing a fine job, said Ward.

``The council has strong support for Mr. Cuffee,'' he said, adding that any issue that comes before the council in the next six months can be handled by Cuffee.

Former City Manager Rein was fired Oct. 17 on a 7-2 vote. His was the longest tenure of any city manager in Chesapeake - a city with a recent history of bickering between city administrators and council members. Rein was named Chesapeake city manager in 1987, 15 years after becoming an assistant city manager.

Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance Jr. called for Rein's dismissal after he said Rein refused to support a proposed water rebate to residents.

KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE CITY MANAGER CHESAPEAKE CITY COUNCIL by CNB