THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 17, 1996 TAG: 9601170347
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
The ball began rolling Tuesday to find a new city manager for Chesapeake as two executive recruiting companies attempted to convince the City Council that their firms should help the city find a new leader.
But after a 20-minute executive session Tuesday, the council issued no decision about which firm it would choose. It is expected that a consultant will be chosen by the end of the month, according to city staff personnel.
The two companies - the Mercer Group Inc. of Atlanta and Ralph Andersen & Associates of Dallas, Texas - gave brief presentations to the council during an afternoon work session.
The Mercer Group is asking for $12,500 for the nationwide search, plus no more than $5,000 in expenses. Ralph Andersen & Associates is asking $13,500 for the search, plus unspecified expenses.
Both firms offered the council similar approaches to filling the Chesapeake city manager's position. Both promised nationwide searches that focused on priorities set by individual council members.
The City Council fired City Manager James W. Rein in October after eight years in the post. Clarence W. Cuffee, a longtime assistant city manager for the city, has been serving as acting city manager.
Rein was fired after a series of conflicts with the council over city water and management issues, according to council members.
James L. Mercer, president of the Mercer Group Inc., said he would personally conduct the search for the city. The firm is conducting a search for a new finance director for Norfolk and has found city managers for both Hampton and Virginia Beach, according to Mercer.
Mercer offered to create a final list of between 12 to 15 candidates for the city based on the council's criteria. Ralph Andersen & Associates promised a final field of between five and six candidates.
Both Mercer and David Eisenlohr, president of the Dallas office of Ralph Andersen & Associates, said his firm's searches would likely take 90 days.
Eisenlohr, along with a team of two other recruiters, promised to use his firm's nationwide resources to find a new city manager. Eisenlohr admitted that his firm had a minimal presence on the East Coast and had never conducted an executive search in Virginia, a fact that appeared to concern some members of the council.
When Councilman Dwight M. Parker asked Eisenlohr if the city was going to be viewed as an easy or difficult client to satisfy, Eisenlohr said the city's controversial history with city managers ``could or could not be an impediment.''
But in the end, he said, ``I don't see this as a tough sell.'' by CNB