City manager checks under way

The city hired Freeman and Associates to do the checks, interim City Manager Tim Collins said this morning.

Collins said he doesn’t expect the work to be finished before the end of this week.

The City Council chose Tim W. Johnson of Portland and Clarence Hulse of Cocoa, Fla., as the two finalists during a Nov. 16 meeting.

Councilors also decided, by a 5-2 vote, that Johnson is their top choice, so long as the background check doesn’t reveal any problems.

“He is the majority choice,” Councilor Beverly Calder said this morning.

If Johnson’s background is acceptable, then the Council will decide, during a public meeting, whether to offer him the job.

“The community will at a minimum have an opportunity during a public meeting to make statements and offer comments before the job is formally offered,” Calder said.

Oregon’s public meetings law requires cities to solicit public comment before hiring a city manager.

Both Calder and Councilor Aletha Bonebrake said Mayor Dennis Dorrah has mentioned the possibility of scheduling a public event, separate from a Council meeting, during which residents could meet Johnson.

Councilors have not decided whether to schedule such an event, however.

“I’m all for as much interaction as we can get,” Bonebrake said.

The City Council has not decided the new manager’s salary.

The job advertisement listed a range of $80,000 to $100,000.

The previous manager, Steve Brocato, whom the City Council fired on June 9 by a 4-3 vote, made $96,816.

Collins estimated that the city has spent between $5,000 and $8,000 on the hiring process.

That estimate includes travel costs for the four candidates who came to Baker City earlier this month for interviews, and advertising the job in various publications.

The estimate does not include the cost for background checks, which he said could total about $2,000.