From interim to permanent

Chico officially has a new top dog. Former Assistant City Manager Mark Orme was promoted from interim to permanent city manager July 3 by the Chico City Council in the wake of Brian Nakamura’s departure for Rancho Cordova, less than two years after landing the position here.

Orme’s selection, while not really opposed, certainly wasn’t unanimous. It was also convoluted, at least from the public’s perspective. At the beginning of last Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting (July 1), City Attorney Vince Ewing announced that the council had voted 4-3 in closed session on a matter concerning the city manager position. As is now the standard, exactly what the council voted on and how each member voted was not explained to the public. The next day, however, Mayor Scott Gruendl issued a press release announcing the council had voted to appoint Orme during its meeting the night before.

The release said Orme’s contract, which includes a salary of $207,500, down from Nakamura’s $217,000, would be approved at a special meeting on Thursday, July 3. But at that meeting, which was heavily attended by city employees, Gruendl explained the council had received legal advice that an employee contract cannot be approved at a special meeting.

Instead, the panel voted on whether to hire Orme, who worked as Nakamura’s assistant city manager in Hemet before taking that same job in Chico, or open the position to outside candidates. Councilman Sean Morgan’s motion to hire Orme was seconded by Councilwoman Mary Goloff.

The vote went 4-2, with Councilmembers Ann Schwab and Randall Stone dissenting and Gruendl and Vice Mayor Mark Sorensen joining Morgan and Goloff. Councilwoman Tami Ritter was not in attendance. Orme’s contract will be considered at the council’s Aug. 5 meeting.

As Schwab and Stone pointed out, the city’s contract with Avery Associates, the consulting firm that conducted the recruitment process that led to Nakamura’s hiring in 2012, said that if the person hired stayed on the job for less than 24 months, it would help fill the position for free. The city would still have to pay for the candidates’ travel and lodging expenses.

Stone said that while he appreciated Orme’s willingness to take over and looked forward to working with him, he still believed the city should have gone through the recruitment process.

He described Orme later by email as “a qualified, superlative candidate that we prematurely appointed. I believe we owed this community and staff a full vetting of our city manager—including a full vetting of salary considerations.”

Schwab told Orme during the meeting Thursday that she, too, believed the council should have gone through the recruitment process.

“I think that through that vetting process we may have selected you,” she said, “but I think it would have made you a stronger city manager in terms of the community.”

Morgan said he appreciated Schwab and Stone wanting to open the job up for recruitment and originally supported doing so.

“But I absolutely believe Mr. Orme is truly qualified to do the job,” he said. “There is no question. He’s been a leader in city government for a long time; he is a good communicator.”

Morgan said opening up the recruitment process would delay hiring by up to five months and could cost the city as much as $10,000, while Sorensen said the 2012 recruitment process indicated there were “a pretty small number of viable candidates” and that there was a good chance Orme would get the job anyway.

Goloff said she initially favored recruitment for the position, but after talking with city employees and watching Orme in action, she changed her mind.

For his part, Orme said he and his wife are overjoyed with the idea of raising their two young children in Chico.

“I look forward to many years of rebuilding Chico’s foundation so that we can stand on firm ground … in order to deliver the quality and necessary services to our public in a timely and efficient manner,” he said in an email message.

Orme already has appointed Administrative Services Director Chris Constantin as the interim assistant city manager. He said his plan may eliminate the services director position.

“I anticipate completing my evaluation of the current situation sooner than later,” he said, “but definitely within the next two weeks.”