The Augusta Commission and Mayor Garnett Johnson could be interviewing candidates for city administrator in about 65 days.
That’s the timeline if search firm Developmental Associates is able to rapidly meet with city department heads and ascertain the commission’s needs in the near future, firm co-founder Steve Straus said.
None besides Johnson had any questions for the firm and only four commissioners attended most of a 1 p.m. Sept. 19 workshop, which ran out of time when the commission’s regular 2 p.m. meeting began.
The city has been without a permanent administrator since March 2022, when Odie Donald II resigned after 16 months.
Since then, several on the commission have voiced support for keeping Interim Administrator Takiyah Douse on the job permanently, while others including Johnson have pushed for a search.
Straus has a bachelor’s degree from Wharton School of Business. A “retired academician,” he’s conducted hundreds of searches for government, public safety and nonprofit leadership, the bulk of them in North Carolina.
In the Tuesday virtual meeting, Straus introduced Nathaniel “Trey” Davis and Frederick Perry as who will assist with the search.
Davis is a third-generation law enforcement officer who now serves as an assistant city manager in Greensboro, N.C.
Perry is the former Human Resources director for Douglasville and Douglas County, Ga., who served as deputy county administrator for two years prior to a government restructuring.
Straus said he hoped Tuesday to “get a really clear understanding” about what the commission seeks in an administrator.
It’s “better to have the conversation together,” added Davis.
The process starts with an organizational analysis and development of a matrix by which to measure candidates, Straus said.
The job posting itself will be more an effort to “sell your community” to prospective candidates, with job requirements, salary information and other details at the end, Straus said.
The firm has had success in Georgia markets, helping place Statesboro City Manager Charles Penny and Savannah City Manager Jay Melder in their current positions.
It recently conducted a three-month search that placed Johnnie Taylor, the interim city manager in Winston-Salem, N.C., as manager of Lexington, N.C.
Once the Augusta job ad is approved, the firm will recruit for about 30 days, Straus said, then will turn over all applications to the commission.
The firm will use a detailed rubric to compare the candidates, and search the internet for news articles which it will summarize. After an initial screen, Davis will do a secondary screen of 12-15 candidates.
In a second screening meeting, the firm will ask the commission to reduce the number of candidates to no more than five, of which it will conduct a detailed skills assessment, Straus said.
Asked by Johnson about candidate confidentiality, Straus said the firm occasionally runs into elected officials who “get involved in ways they shouldn’t” in a job search.
That hurts the city’s reputation as well as the potential candidate pool, he said.
As the commission chamber began to fill for the 2 p.m. commission meeting, Straus asked if the firm could find out more about what the commission seeks in an administrator.
“Is that anything we can do in the next 20-30 minutes?” he asked.
Johnson said no and suggested the firm email questions about the position to Clerk of Commission Lena Bonner, who could distribute them to commissioners.
