By Jesse Wood
Sept. 15, 2014. The Boone Town Council has scheduled a special meeting on Friday, Sept. 19, to approve a contract for the new town manager.
The meeting, held in the Council Chambers on Blowing Rock Road, starts at 3 p.m. A press conference will follow.
Town Manager Greg Young, who has worked in this position with the town since 1991, intended at the beginning of the year, but the Boone Town Council offered him a one-year extension and gave a him a considerable salary bump (from $124,987 to $160,000) to stay on during the search for a new town manager.
The agreement noted that the Boone Town Council requested Young to delay his retirement until the end of 2014 “in light of the many important matters facing the Town of Boone at this time, for which the town council desires the expertise of employee, and the town council further wishing to undertake a methodical and comprehensive search and hiring process to replace employee.”
The Boone Town Council approved a contract with Springsted Inc., a public-sector advisory firm that specializes in executive searches, in early spring. The Boone Town Council then came to a consensus on a laundry list of guidelines for selecting and hiring a new manager:
- Springsted interviews mayor, all council members, certain town staff and key town advisory group leaders in order to create a profile for the town and manager position
- Mayor and council each choose two individuals from the community to be part of a focus group
- Focus group meeting is facilitated to gain insight into what they would like to see in the next town manager
- Profiles are created for the Town of Boone and manager position for council’s review and approval
- Recruitment process begins
- Interviews will be held internal to the town, focus group not apart of this process
- Mayor and council will be presented with 10 to 12 candidates for review
- Mayor and council will narrow down list of candidates to four to six.
- Final candidates will receive a tour of the Town of Boone with several functions held throughout the day leading them up to the actual interview. These functions may include providing a writing sample, giving a presentation, holding a mock press conference, dealing with a mock situation, etc.
- Following these interviews, mayor and council will further whittle list of candidates
- A less formal interview will take place socially with the mayor and council to observe candidate and learn more about them
- The final candidate will be chosen
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