Council hires Finch as acting manager

Former Eastport City Manager George "Bud" Finch was designated by unanimous vote to be the acting city manager, at a special Eastport City Council meeting held on January 6. Finch had resigned last month, citing a lack of support from the council, with the resignation effective December 31. The council hopes to hire a new city manager by early this spring.

Council President Bob Peacock opened the meeting by saying to the audience of over 40 residents, "Your council is working really hard to make things run smoothly. We've got a lot on our plates for the next few months."

In a move that signaled the council's willingness to respond to citizen concerns, Peacock noted that councillors would be making an effort to speak more loudly so that all audience members could hear the council discussion. By using his computer, Peacock was able to show the documents and language being discussed by the councillors on a large screen. A number of audience members nodded in approval of these efforts at greater communication.

The acting city manager will be employed on a weekly basis, with the same weekly pay, vacation pay and sick pay as he formerly received. Councillor Paul Critchley noted that the weekly basis was at Finch's request because of his own employment search. "The reason for the special meeting was because the attorney recommended we act as soon as possible to appoint an acting city manager for legal reasons," explained Peacock.

The council and acting city manager will follow a hiring timeline that was presented and accepted by unanimous council vote. An advertisement for the position of city manager is being placed for the next two weeks with a number of outlets. Acting City Manager Finch explained that laws governing certain types of jobs require strict confidentiality. For this reason applications will not be accepted via e-mail. All applications will be held unopened until a specific date.

Council President Peacock added that, if fewer than 10 applications are received, the council will review them. If more than 10 are received, "We'll bring in a citizens' group." He encouraged anyone interested in being on a citizens' group to send an e-mail to the acting city manager or to let city hall know. He stressed that because of the importance of confidentiality, anyone serving in such a group would need to sign a document of confidentiality. If all goes well, the council hopes to have a new city manager by the end of March or mid-April.

Before the meeting closed, a short 20 minutes after starting, Councillor Peacock reminded the audience of the firearms ordinance workshop being held on Monday, January 11, at 6 p.m. at the Shead band room, to be followed at 7 p.m. by the regular city council meeting. He added that a Community Development Block Grant application for fire station infrastructure, $350,000 with an $87,500 match required of the city, would be one of a number of items needing the public's attention at the city council meeting.