Lack of transparency in Pomeranz hiring raises brows

Jeff Pomeranz, Cedar Rapids' new city manager, originally came to Iowa because West Des Moines believed strongly in conducting a broad, national search to fill its top executive position.

“That's what we did 12 years ago when we hired Jeff,” said Mayor Steven Gaer, “and of course, we found him in Port Angeles, Wash., so that's about as far away as you can get.”

Gaer reports that the West Des Moines City Council is launching a new national search to replace Pomeranz, 52.

Unlike the West Des Moines council and unlike the previous Cedar Rapids council that hired former City Manager Jim Prosser in 2006, the current Cedar Rapids council hand-picked Pomeranz. No search firm, no formal advertising for the job, no taking resumes - for which Mayor Ron Corbett has taken some questions.

From the moment they signed a “separation agreement” with Prosser, Corbett and a majority of the council said they would find a new city manager from Iowa's most successful cities. Mike Van Milligan in Dubuque, Kelly Hayworth in Coralville and Pomeranz were on their list.

In May, the personnel committee toyed with hiring a search firm when it appeared recruiting wouldn't work. Milligan and Hayworth had expressed no interest. In the end, the approach worked with Pomeranz.

Gael said the West Des Moines council never thought twice about using a search firm - a common approach for larger cities.

“Our thought is that we want to cast as broad a net as we can ... to make sure we have a chance to hear from as many potential good candidates as we can possibly get,” Gael says.

It's no different in Iowa City. Mayor Matt Hayek said Iowa City continues to work with a search firm to fill its city manager post. “Countless” cities, universities and other entities use search firms to “maximize” the candidate pool and conduct background and reference checks, he said.

“An established search firm knows the industry and can identify city managers who might be a good match for the city, including those who may not be actively looking for new employment,” Hayek said.

That's the approach Des Moines also has used.

Tom Turner, Des Moines' director of human resources, has spent time in the private and public sectors. He said it's not atypical in the private sector for a firm to go directly after a particular talent for a high-level post. In the public sector, though, the approach is usually not so direct, he said.

“(In the public sector) process is king,” Turner said.

Turner said the Des Moines City Council was interested in a certain successful city manager in Iowa in 2006 when it was looking to hire. The council had its search firm reach out to that person and encourage him to apply. He didn't.

The council altered its search when Rick Clark, the deputy city manager, decided to compete. Three finalists met the public and were interviewed at a public session, with Clark getting the job, Turner said.

“We try to be as open and transparent as we can on these high-level hiring matters … so people get a chance to see what's going on and don't feel it's a backroom deal,” he said.

Alan Kemp, executive director of the Iowa League of Cities, said it is “very common” for larger cities in Iowa to use search firms, because it creates a hiring process and the search firm helps with recruitment.

He said a city like Cedar Rapids has a capable human resources department, and so it can handle the hiring of a city manager on its own. Kemp also said Cedar Rapids is unique because in 2006 it launched a council/manager form of government and in 2008 it suffered the flood from which it continues to recover.

“Time will eventually tell if that was correct, but I don't think it's unreasonable given Cedar Rapids' circumstances,” he said.

He ventures, too, that Corbett and the City Council expected some criticism.

“I don't think they made the choice without knowing that they would ruffle some feathers, because it's not a conventional process,” Kemp said.

Kathleen Richardson, executive secretary of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council and director of the Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communications, said a community misses out on public feedback when a hiring process is “too secret.” At the same time, a more open process might bring to light “possible negative things” about an applicant that otherwise might not be known, she said.

She said Cedar Rapids is not “technically” violating the state open-meetings law, if a majority of the council hasn't met secretly without public notice to discuss and decide matters.

Even so, insisting on an open process provides the public with a chance to listen to the thinking of the decision-makers, not just to hear the result of the decision. An open process is good for applicants, too, she said.

“They get off on the right foot with people in the community if people have a chance to interact with them and get to know more about them,” she said.

The guide, she said, should be as “much transparency as possible” when hiring important public positions.

“At least what they owe the public is to bring the (job candidates) to town and to do it in a forum that's public enough so the community gets a chance to look at them and get the measure of them,” she said.