Iowa City manager search to begin in February

The City Council is getting ready to finally begin its search for a new city manager.

The council plans to hold an initial discussion on the matter Feb. 1, nearly a year after Michael Lombardo was fired as city manager.

Council members say they don't know exactly what the timeline will be from there, but there's hope the search will be completed within a few months. Connie Champion, for one, said she wants to select the new city manager by summer.

“Hopefully we can get the job done this time and have it be permanent,” she said.

That's an allusion to the search that resulted in the hiring of Lombardo. He started in May 2008 but was fired the following April.

Except for Mayor Regenia Bailey saying Lombardo wasn't a good fit, council members have refused to explain why they fired him. Lombardo has said he was surprised by the move.

Longtime Assistant City Manager Dale Helling has filled in, in the interim. Last summer, council members cited his steady work and the upcoming council election as reasons to wait until 2010 to start a new search.

When Lombardo was hired, council members praised his vision for the city and personality, but council members said recently that job interviews go only so far.

“You never really know who you've hired until they're on the job,” Mike Wright said.

Qualities council members said they were looking for this time include leadership and management skills and experience. The city manager oversees day-to-day operations in the city.

Susan Mims, whose council term starts after the new year, said she was intrigued by the idea of hiring a leader instead of someone focused on being a manager, although she wants to talk about it more with the council.

Council member Matt Hayek, however, said the next city manager needs both those qualities. “It's hard to lead if the day-to-day operations aren't running well,” he said.

Candidates would have to be willing to look past Lombardo's short stint and the drawn-out process of that search. Bailey said she wasn't sure if those issues would keep candidates from applying.

“It's certainly a possibility,” she said, “but we are also in a different economic climate.”

Jeff Schott, a former Marion city manager who is now program director at the University of Iowa's Institute of Public Affairs, said any concern candidates have may be soothed by the Iowa City position being considered a great job and the fact that Lombardo's predecessor served for 21 years.