The national search for someone to fill Little Rock's soon-to-be-vacant assistant city manager position has begun, and City Manager Bruce Moore hopes to make a selection by Labor Day, he said Thursday. It's the last of five top-level positions Moore has left to fill after department heads and other officials either retired or left for new jobs in the past few months.
The city already was facing the retirement of three department heads -- Police Chief Stuart Thomas, Human Resources Director Don Flegal and Community Programs Director Dorothy Nayles -- when the city's spokesman and assistant manager both announced they'd accepted other jobs.
After a months-long search and series of community meetings, Moore selected Kenton Buckner of Louisville, Ky., last month to become the new police chief. Buckner will start after Thomas' last day June 27. Before that, Moore had promoted Human Resources Labor and Relations Manager Stacey Witherell to Human Resources director. Witherell has already transitioned into her new role.
And this week Moore announced that he has chosen Dana Fisher Dossett of Washington, D.C., to become the new Community Programs Department director beginning July 1. Fisher has worked as a senior creative project specialist with the National Education Association for the past six years in D.C.
Luis Gonzalez, a senior account executive at Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, will become the city's new communications and marketing manager, starting sometime in early July, Moore also said this week.
That leaves only the replacement of Assistant City Manager Bryan Day to be decided. Day, who has been with the city 20 years and worked alongside or for Moore for the entirety of that time in one position or another, was selected last month as the new executive director of the Little Rock Port Authority. His last day with the city will be June 18 and he will begin work at the port the following Monday.
Applications for the job are being accepted through June 29 at www.lrjobs.net. Until a hire is made, Moore has brought Grants Coordinator Karen Curry to help in an interim position.
"Bryan is going to be hard to replace," Moore said Thursday. "We worked together for 20 years, kind of have grown up in the organization together and are very close. I'm very happy for him, but City Hall is going to be a lot different without him here. ... His working knowledge of the organization and the city was a tremendous benefit. There's big shoes to fill."
The assistant city manager is the No. 2 in charge in Little Rock's form of city government. The position has several department heads report to it and also has a role working with the city board and filling in during the city manager's absence.
Moore said the city has advertised in national trade journals, as well as regionally and locally. He expects the Human Resources Department to have finished its initial review of the applications, checking for minimum qualifications, by the July Fourth weekend. Moore will then use July and August to review resumes and conduct interviews, he said.
Metro on 06/06/2014