2008 Woodie Awards
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New permanent city manager will be hired by next February
Officials say candidate should be a dedicated public servant able to work well with the city council
by Jason Reed | News editor
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy named Angel Jones as Eugene's interim city manager on June 6, nearly a month and a half after former City Manager Dennis Taylor announced his resignation.
But the relationship between the city manager and the Eugene City Council can be a lot like a marriage, Councilor Chris Pryor said, full of squabbles and bickering over something as insignificant as putting a fork in the spoon drawer. Now city councilors are courting new suitors, one of which they hope to announce as the permanent city manager by next Valentine's Day.
"This is one of the most important decisions we will make," Councilor Mike Clark said. "We are going to finalize our list of candidates in December, then hold interviews in January, and eventually we will hire a new city manager in February of next year."
The City of Eugene works on a council-manager system, where the policy and operational duties are divided.
"Policy is what are we going to do, and operation is how are we going to do it," Councilor Chris Pryor said. City councilors are not expected to be experts in a certain field - their jobs are to make decisions, and that is why they are in charge of the policy, he said. The city manager, who works under the city council, then decides how to implement that policy, Pryor said.
But that still leaves Eugene's city manager with considerable influence.
As the interim city manager Jones oversees Eugene's $427 million budget and manages the city's 1,547 employees. Jones served as assistant city manager before being named to the interim position, and will receive a yearly salary of $149,323 . She came to Eugene in July 1999 to serve as executive director of the city's Library, Recreation and Cultural Services Department.
Jones' appointment came during a transitional period for the city that included the rebuilding of downtown Eugene and the potential fuel tax increase, both of which will be on the special election Nov. 6 ballot. That may have prompted Mayor Piercy to promote Jones and maintain those projects.
But the relationship between the city manager and the Eugene City Council can be a lot like a marriage, Councilor Chris Pryor said, full of squabbles and bickering over something as insignificant as putting a fork in the spoon drawer. Now city councilors are courting new suitors, one of which they hope to announce as the permanent city manager by next Valentine's Day.
"This is one of the most important decisions we will make," Councilor Mike Clark said. "We are going to finalize our list of candidates in December, then hold interviews in January, and eventually we will hire a new city manager in February of next year."
The City of Eugene works on a council-manager system, where the policy and operational duties are divided.
"Policy is what are we going to do, and operation is how are we going to do it," Councilor Chris Pryor said. City councilors are not expected to be experts in a certain field - their jobs are to make decisions, and that is why they are in charge of the policy, he said. The city manager, who works under the city council, then decides how to implement that policy, Pryor said.
But that still leaves Eugene's city manager with considerable influence.
As the interim city manager Jones oversees Eugene's $427 million budget and manages the city's 1,547 employees. Jones served as assistant city manager before being named to the interim position, and will receive a yearly salary of $149,323 . She came to Eugene in July 1999 to serve as executive director of the city's Library, Recreation and Cultural Services Department.
Jones' appointment came during a transitional period for the city that included the rebuilding of downtown Eugene and the potential fuel tax increase, both of which will be on the special election Nov. 6 ballot. That may have prompted Mayor Piercy to promote Jones and maintain those projects.
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