It appears we’re back to square one. Of the nearly 30 Fairmont City Administrator applicants, just 10 were qualified and of the five that were interviewed, three have now declined second interviews and two weren’t offered one.

It remains to be seen what the city does next.

For some background, Fairmont has had six or so city administrators in the last six years.

In October 2019, Mike Humpal was put on administrative leave and Troy Nemmers, who at the time was the city engineer, served as “acting” city administrator for two months before Mark Sievert was hired as interim city administrator in December 2019.

In May 2020, Cathy Reynolds became Fairmont’s new city administrator. However, she left in May 2023. In September 2023, after searching for either a full time or interim city administrator, the city settled on Jeff O’Neill to serve in the interim.

Matt Skaret was hired as a full-time city administrator in April 2024, but was placed on administrative leave and ultimately resigned after his six month performance evaluation in November 2024. O’Neill was brought back later that month to again serve in an interim capacity.

Why can’t the city find a qualified person to accept the job and stay longer than a couple of years? Not many who are qualified want to apply and those who are qualified end up walking away.

Take this last batch of candidates for example. The three who were invited to do second round interviews all had ample city administrator experience. Sure they had some skeletons in their closet but who doesn’t. Council was aware and the candidates were all willing to speak about it.

Ultimately though, they all withdrew. It seems that the reasons vary. Some were harassed by citizens who took it upon themselves to act in a capacity they have no business in or qualifications for.

It was known that the lone internal candidate, the last to drop out, did not have full support of the council or the staff and likely withdrew because they knew the numbers weren’t there.

But, let’s remember, it’s not the citizens or the staff that get to pick the new city administrator, but the council alone.

So who is at fault here? You hate to play the blame game but select citizens, city staff and the council are acting in ways they shouldn’t.

City staff should not be lobbying city council members, and if they are, council members shouldn’t be so easily swayed. If staff fears someone will come in and shake things up, that’s probably a good thing. The city has been without consistent, solid leadership for too long. Perhaps it needs someone who can come in and run a tight ship.

Council members also should not be so easily swayed by citizens, especially by those who have no business in the dealings of government affairs. So much city business is circulating on social media and it makes one wonder who is leaking information so to say. Whether it’s a council member or staff member, they’d be well-advised to step back and question if what they’re doing is really helping the city at all.

And on that note, the city as a government unit needs to practice transparency. People within it are trying to control the facts and that isn’t their job. Their job is to push the facts out to the citizens.

So back to the question of why can’t the city find a qualified person to accept the job and stay longer than a couple of years. Read the newspaper or watch the videos of the city council meetings and see how council can’t agree. Disagreeing in itself is not a bad thing, but the way in which it’s done here is not respectful or productive. What’s sad is it’s been going on for too long not just with this council but with councils before it.

And even with staff turnover, issues have remained at city hall.

I believe there are staff and councilors alike who really want what’s best for the city but maybe the problem is that they all want to see it done their way. Perhaps it’s best to remember that it really will take a village, in this case city staff, council members and citizens working together, to get the city in a position where it really is appealing to qualified candidates. Those who are unable to do that or can’t come to terms with it really have no business being involved.