Construction of the so-called sheep barn should have resolved the issue of providing City employees with the workplace the City Council claimed was a vital community need. Citizens might now be curious as to why our City Manager is showing up to her new workplace only about 20 hours per week. How many of you reading this were or are managers in the private or public sector and believe that showing up part time at your place of work is a successful management style? Just my opinion as a former City Manager, but there is value in setting expectations by example with staff in being among the first to show up in the morning and last to leave each day. Being readily available for in person interaction with citizens and staff whenever City Hall is open is also not an unrealistic expectation in a small City like Manzanita.
Employment as a City Manager in Manzanita has never looked so good. A new City Hall, a record number of Administrative staff to ease the workload, not required to live in Manzanita and experience life as a resident in a neighborhood surrounded by short term rentals and a total annual compensation package of approximately $230,000. Oregon City Managers in cities with populations of 5,000 or less who show up every day for a full day of work at their respective City Hall would have difficulty understanding what’s happening in Manzanita.
The Council has been reluctant to produce a summary of the total cost of our new City Hall. Tabulating the property purchase, construction cost, City staff indirect cost charges, construction interest costs and the final 20 year debt service costs, brings the total cost to over $10 million dollars. If there’s still something with City Hall that’s preventing the City Manager’s attendance, perhaps the Council could explain what it is and that they know where the City Manager is during the week and that they do not see any problems with part time appearances.