Even with a 15-minute grace period for folks stuck in traffic or unaccustomed to quick council meetings, the first public hearing on the charter amendment to allow council to waive the residency requirement for city managers was over in just 47 minutes. There will be a second hearing on Saturday, April 1 at 10 a.m.
The Greenbelt City Charter currently requires that the city manager live in Greenbelt. The charter amendment would modify the charter to prohibit the manager from living outside of the city without the approval of council.
The opinions at the first hearing ranged from yes to no to maybe with slightly more commenters favoring the amendment.
Yes
Among the yeses, Louise Weisman of University Square reminded council that Greenbelt is not a one-stop-sign town anymore and that it is more important to hire a fully-qualified applicant than a resident. Bill Orleans, of somewhere in Greenbelt, said he does not care where the city manager lives.
Linda Ivy of Lakeside called the last city manager search a disaster. If we continue to make people live in the city, she said, the pool of applicants will be small and we may not get the best possible candidates. However, she felt that the manager should live in Maryland and that council should consider setting a mileage limit for how far away the manager could live.
Dan Gillotte emailed in support of the amendment, which he said would help the city get the best qualified candidates.
No
Scott Landry by email said that having the manager live in Greenbelt creates a vested interest. He said that the charter amendment seems to reflect favoritism toward the acting city manager. In addition, in a crisis or natural disaster, the manager, as the chief public safety officer, cannot evaluate the situation without being on hand.
Bob Rudd strongly opposed the amendment. If the manager is allowed to live outside the city, the position “becomes a J-O-B rather than a career,” he said. A resident manager becomes part of the community, which does not happen with an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. manager. He said that the Washington area has a dearth of candidates and urged council to undertake a true national search.
Maybe
Peggy Higgins, of Windsor Green, said that it is very important for the manager to live in Greenbelt to fully understand its uniqueness. However, that is not the only criterion. She does not know, she said, whether the city is having recruitment problems. If so, she would support the amendment but it should require the manager to live in Prince George’s County. With a budget of $31 million, she said the city needs someone with seven to 10 years of experience in city management.