Pottsville’s search for a new City Administrator will wait.
Council member voted unanimously Monday to table an advertisement seeking resumes from prospects for the job at City Hall. The issue will likely appear again on December’s meeting agenda.
That decision came about after some back and forth among council members and staff as well as one member of the incoming administration.
Prior to the vote, Councilman-elect Scott Price – who, along with Councilman-elect Jon Marsh and Mayor-elect Tom Smith swept the Pottsville elections earlier this month to tip the balance of power at City Hall to the Republicans – asked that current council members table a vote to approve advertising for a new City Administrator.
He said, “Any decision made is trying to rush things through before we come into office.”
Price said the new administration would like to meet with the City’s Fair Hiring Board to determine what they’re looking for in a candidate and for he and his incoming council mates to review the position’s job description.
Councilman Andy Wollyung urged fellow council members to go forward with a vote on Monday but added that he believed the incoming administration should be part of the search.
Councilwoman Dottie Botto said that a potential vote on Monday was just to get the process started but offered the compromise to Price that the issue be put off until December.
“We want to get the process going for the new administration,” she said.
Both Botto and Wollyung will be serving as council members for at least the next two years with the incoming Republican majority.
“I think the process needs to start. I believe we need to start this process. It’s a long one. I don’t think tabling it is the answer,” Wollyung said. “I think we should advertise now. We could still get that ball rolling for the next 20 days.”
But because Price expressed interest in his slate seeing the job description and possibly updating it, Acting City Administrator Lisa Shuman alerted the current council that in order to advertise the position, it must include a job description.
“I would not suggest we advertise until we have a good job description,” she said.
In late-August, Ian Mahal abruptly resigned from the City Administrator’s job after being hired in February. At that time, The Canary learned that had Mahal not resigned, he likely would have been relieved of his duties.
Mahal said during his resignation that there was “staunch disagreement” between he and some council members at the time. In exclusive conversations with this news outlet, Wollyung and Councilwoman Cat Mahon expressed concerns with Mahal’s job performance and would have voted to fire him had he not resigned.
The City Administrator job became available in January when Tom Palamar, who held the job since basically the turn of the century, retired from the position.
Pottsville council members did not act on the vacancy during its September or October meetings.
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