City Mayor Calls Special Meeting

On Expanding Search Committee

ONEONTA – Mayor Dick Miller has called a special meeting of Common Council for 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall to “discuss the city manager search and the possibility of expanding the membership of the committee.”

The mayor acted after three members of the Charter Revision Committee, at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, asked him to add citizens with expertise to the search committee after concerns were raised about the search’s objectivity.

In addition to the three – Dave Rissberger, who is also a Common Council member, John Dudek and Kay Stuligross – two other members of the Charter Revision Committee, chair Laurie Zimniewicz and Steve Londner, had urged that the search committee be expanded.

The mayor appointed the Charter Revision Committee after some controversy regarding the resignation of Oneonta’s first city manager, Mike Long, after only 18 months on the job.  The committee, which is due to issue a report in the next couple of weeks, is reviewing how well the revised charter, approved by a 1,177-370 vote in 2011, is being implemented.

Common Council will meet after its Human Resources Committee, chaired by Council member Russ Southard and charged with conducting the search, meets at 6 p.m. Monday.

An agenda with specifics will follow, City Clerk Doug Kendall said in an e-mail