Henderson Mayor Brad Staton says a nationwide search to find a successor for current City Manager Buzzy Newman, who is scheduled to retire early next year, could begin in the summer. But, the mayor said, he won’t apply.
“I really enjoy being mayor,” he said. “I have no desire to leave my position as mayor.”
Staton, in an interview with the Hendersonian, was addressing rumors swirling around City Hall that said he was angling to be the next city manager.
“I knew the rumor was out there,” he said.
Staton did say, however, that he had given “some thought” to applying for the position because “I think I would make a wonderful city manager candidate.”
But he said that he didn’t think long about it and didn’t do any research on how the process of moving from mayor to city manager could occur.
“I don’t know because I never fully looked at it,” the mayor said. “As we sit here today, it’s not going to happen.”
He added that he has “zero plans” to fill out an application for city manager when the job does open.
Michelle Hill, the director of communications and marketing for the Kentucky League of Cities, said a move from mayor to city manager is legal. But the person who makes that move would have to resign from the mayor position before taking the city manager position, she said.
“The mayor can be appointed/hired as the city manager, but he or she would have to give up the elected position upon taking office as the city manager. (Kentucky Revised Statutes) 61.080 does not allow a person to fill two municipal offices,” she wrote in an email to the Hendersonian.
Staton said he recently asked Newman to reconsider his retirement date, which is scheduled for February or March 2025, and to stay on longer.
“If Buzzy leaves, we’ve got some big shoes to fill,” the mayor said.
Newman confirmed that the mayor had asked him to stay on, but said he’d not yet given him an answer.
Newman told the Hendersonian that he’s staying the course with what he’d promised the commission, which is that he’d remain until a successor was in place and ready to take on the work before he retired.
He said if he did decide to stay on, he’d only remain six more months to a year and that time would most likely be used in assisting a newcomer transitioning to the job.
“I don’t have plans to make it two more years,” he said.
Newman said he’ll speak to the commission at April’s second regularly scheduled meeting on April 23 about making plans to find a successor.
Staton said the city could open a national search with an open application process in August or September to collect applicants, and then after, complete a hiring process.
That timetable, according to Newman, is a bit late.
“To be honest with you, I’d start before then,” he said. The reach of the advertisement to attract recruits needs to be determined and then a committee would need to be formed to narrow the field down to three to five, before the interviewing process, he said. The person appointed would then need time to get up to speed with the job before Newman steps away, he said.
Newman said the commission ought to be aware of professional city managers who could be using the job as a steppingstone for something better.
He mentioned the commission’s recent department head hires—Chelsea Mills, the city’s new finance director, and Megan McElfresh, the city’s new human resources director—as both being from Henderson. He said that might be something commission members look at in the new hire.
Being from Henderson is not a requirement, he said, but residents will want someone who’ll stick around for a while.
“This community expects someone to be here and be a part of the community for a long time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Staton said he believes that he personally benefits most and Henderson benefits most by his staying put as mayor. And he said he’s “more settled” in staying where he is now, enjoying his work and being a part of the city’s current growth and progress.
“My path is set,” the mayor said.
