City Manager

Dear Editor, Under the city commission/city manager form of government, administrative decisions are made by a trained, professional city manager, an individual chosen by our elected commission based on background and experience. Under this form of government we avoid the opportunity for trial and error, one in which an individual, presumably with no experience running a city, is allowed to try out pet theories and personal solutions to community challenges. A strong mayor will be a much more permanent fixture than a city manager, since there is no legislative method for recall and since voters will have to wait four years to make a change.

The city manager screening committee voted Saturday, by number, to narrow its list of candidates to six and plans to give that list to the Danville City Commission. Commissioners will receive the information at 9:30 a.m. Monday during their regular meeting that was rescheduled because of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Advocate-Messenger has made an open records request for documents that would spell out the qualifications for the candidates, understanding that names could be blacked out. The Kentucky Attorney General's Office has advised the newspaper that the public is entitled to everything except items that would identify the candidates.

When Paul Stansbury was contracted in April as Danville's interim city manager, part of the deal prohibited him from applying for the job permanently. But after the first search process turned out unsuccessful in August, City Commission - apparently seeing potential in Stansbury after watching him work for four months - lifted that prohibition. Stansbury, too, gleaned enough from his time as interim to know that there was a lot about the job - and the community - to like, so he put his hat into the ring.

Danville's city manager screening committee has narrowed the list of 25 applicants to 11. The committee voted Tuesday for City Clerk Donna Groves, a member of the committee, to call and make sure the people are still interested in the position. The deadline for applications was July 8, and some commissioners said that some applicants may have already found other jobs. Of those interested, the committee will check their references and do criminal background checks before narrowing the list down further.

Danville has been without a permanent city manager and police chief for more than two months now and it will be awhile longer before either of the positions is filled. The applicant pool for both jobs has been whittled down to a handful of semi-finalists who will be interviewed, but no interviews have been scheduled as of yet, said City Clerk Donna Peek. The hiring process has been delayed, first by the budget and now by vacation schedules, Peek said. Hiring a city manager to replace Darrell Blenniss, who resigned March 30, will take first priority.

Danville City Commissioners have submitted a list of qualities they would like to have in the new city manager. The selection committee plans to begin reviewing applications at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Members of the committee want to interview and do background checks on those that survive the first round of checks. Here are the qualities they listed: Mayor John W.D. Bowling: people sensitive, outgoing, communication skills, understands budgets, innovative and experience in conflict resolution.

Danville City Commission voted unanimously Friday to extend the contract of its interim city manager while the search continues to hire someone permanently. Paul Stansbury has served in the position for four and a half months, and the commission extended the contract for an additional 90 days, pending approval from Blue Grass Area Development District, where Stansbury is employed as a public administration specialist. Under the contract, BGADD will be paid $1,892 per 40-hour work week for Stansbury's services.

Mayor John W.D. Bowling didn't have to "find a way around" state law to keep the qualifications of finalists for city manager private because the law doesn't require that the city release them, according to an attorney general's opinion released Tuesday. The city did eventually release the names and qualifications of six finalists, but not in direct response to an Open Records request from The Advocate-Messenger. When first denied access to the qualifications, the newspaper filed an appeal with the state attorney general.

The Danville City Commission, in a surprise move, released the names of the six finalists for city manager Thursday, a month after some commissioners said they wanted to withhold the names to protect candidates' privacy. Mayor John W.D. Bowling went so far as to ask in a public meeting if there was a "legal way around" the state's Open Meetings Law that would allow the city to keep the names secret. The Advocate-Messenger learned in telephone conversations with the attorney general's office that the identities of the applicants could be withheld, even though they were a part of an open and public meeting, but that other information on the documents could be considered open record.

Danville's city manager confirmed Friday that Chief Financial Officer Spencer Rogers was put on administrative leave as of Wednesday. Paul Stansbury said Rogers may be facing a demotion pending the outcome of Monday night's City Commission meeting. This week, a hearing officer ruled that there were reasonable grounds for the city manager to recommend the demotion. "Rogers was put on administrative leave with full benefits and pay," Stansbury said. "This is something I determined was a necessary move.