Key West is poised to post a “Help Wanted” ad for its top job.
City Manager Patti McLauchlin retires in July 2023. The elected commissioners want her replacement in place by April 2023 for the summer budget process.
Applicants for city manager must first impress consultant Dona Higginbotham, who was hired to lead the national search. Then, a committee of Key Westers appointed to evaluate Higginbotham’s top eight to 10 recommendations will choose three or so to bring in for interviews.
The seven-member search committee — its members appointed by the elected commissioners and mayor — met Sept. 21 with Higginbotham and City Attorney Shawn Smith, who outlined Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine Laws that restrict private communication between public officials about official matters.
Higginbotham detailed the search and evaluation process, saying she’s working with city management now to define the job description and requirements. She’ll advertise the job opening by Nov. 1 for 30 days.
“I’ll be getting all the resumes,” Higginbotham told the committee. “You don’t need to be looking at 40 to 50 resumes, which we’ll likely get. This is Key West; it’s a place people want to be. So I’ll first vet those 40 to 50 resumes, then I’ll recommend eight to 10 candidates and I’ll forward you all of their information.”
She added that the committee members will also receive a list of everyone who applies, not just her eight to 10 recommendations. Each applicant will be asked to submit a 30- , 60- and 90-day plan Key West and address the top challenges facing the island city.
Higginbotham said she’ll conduct phone and video interviews with the candidates, perform internet research and complete background checks.
When the committee reviews her recommendations and other applicants, its members will discuss and decide which three candidates to bring to town for interviews that will include a community reception, meetings with department heads and a formal question-and-answer session with the committee at city hall.
“You’ll have my list of top candidates by mid-December,” the consultant said.
Committee member Arlo Haskell, who was appointed by Mayor Teri Johnston, said at the meeting, “Since the position was created in 1945, the city has made 25 city manager appointments. The average manager has lasted only three years, and only one has served more than five years consecutively. … We have to get this right. In two years, the city commission will lose the veteran leadership it has had for a generation. … We need a manager who can withstand the day-to-day public scrutiny and private pressures that are just part of this demanding job. Someone who can steer the ship of city government through the uncertain passage ahead and who can do the work, day in and day out, of building a better Key West.”
In addition to Haskell, the search committee includes the following appointees:
- Kurt Lewin, who grew up in Key West and whose father, Kermit, served as mayor in the 1960s. Kurt Lewin is a senior vice president at First State Bank of the Florida Keys.
- Peggy Ward Grant, a retired health department employee and community activist for Bahama Village neighborhood improvement efforts.
- Donie Lee, retired Key West police chief and longtime Key West police officer.
- Chris Valdez, a retired, 30-year Monroe County educator and longtime vice principal at Key West High School.
- Sam Holland, a graduate of Key West High School, chairman of the Key West Planning Board and owner of Conch House guest house.
Ken Sullivan, a leader of the Coral City Elks Lodge in Bahama Village and a Bahama Village activist.
