Clearwater Council Might Not Have To Look Far For New City Manager

CLEARWATER, FL — As members of the Clearwater City Council met in a work session Monday to discuss hiring a company to conduct a national search for a new city manager, it occurred to them that the ideal candidate may be under their noses.

Jennifer Poirrier was appointed interim city manager on Jan. 5 after the council voted to fire Jon Jennings a little more than a year after hiring him following a lengthy national search.

After expressing dissatisfaction with the way Jennings handled several issues including the recent revelation that the Clearwater waste department had stopped collecting recycleables from solid waste customers without informing the council, Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard surprised the board in December when he announced that he didn't think Jennings was the right fit for Clearwater.

On Monday, as human resources director, Billie Kirkpatrick, recommended hiring GovHR USA at a cost of $26,500 to conduct a search for a city manager, council member Lina Teixeira piped in with an alternative.

"In few weeks, Miss Poirrier has faced a relentless onslaught of critical and complicated challenges, and she's faced them with professionalism, transparency ," she said. "Her previous role in the HR department is very evident in the way she negotiates and her ability to interact with all the different departments. Having said that, I think she's proven to be a very strong, capable woman, and I think it would be a great step to promote a strong, capable woman in this position."

She noted that, in addition to the recycling dilemma, the city is facing harsh criticism over its tree ordinance, which recently resulted in all the mature trees in a resident's shade-filled yard being unceremoniously chopped down. Additionally, the city is grappling with a series of progressively volatile protests at a local clinic that provides abortions.

Teixeira recalled that the city conducted two long, extensive searches before hiring Jennings and they weren't particulary successful in attracting a lot of candidates.

"And those were in the best of times," she said. "Our environment has changed and I am not confident we can find a good candidate with all the challenges we have," such as 200 open staff positions.

"And I think time is of the essence as well. (Not having a city manager) limits our ability to deal with some very challenging issues we're facing," she said.

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Council member David Allbritton was quick to second Teixeira's suggestion.

"I agree wholeheartedly," he said. "Jennifer Poirrier's gone through the trial by fire. We want somebody who understands our city and understands Clearwater, and she's been here a while and knows that. And she's handled the issues that have come up with professionalism and tact, and she's very responsive, at least to me, on everything I've brought forward to her. I was going to suggest today that Thursday night we just consider making her our city manager. I think she's a good fit for Clearwater. We have 1,800 some employees and they're looking We don't have to go through the process and the city's in flux right now, and they're looking for somebody to guide the ship and the sooner we can make that happen, the better for Clearwater."

While Mayor Frank Hibbard said, he, too, has been impressed with Porrier's performance, he advised the council to still go through the search process.

"Miss Poirrier has done a wonderful job. I don't question that at all," Hibbard said. "She's been thrown into very difficult circumstances, but I think about that between now and Thursday but I do think a process is a good thing."

He said, as chairman of the Ruth Eckerd Hall Board of Directors, he faced a similar situation with the sudden resignation of former executive director, Zev Buffman. Susan Crockett, who had been employed at Ruth Eckerd Hall for 31 years, serving as general manager of ticketing, event services, technical theater and facility operations, immediately stepped into the vacant role.

"She knew the job from soup to nuts but we still went through the process. At the end of the day, she was the best candidate there was, but at least we did our due diligence and went through the process," Hibbard said.

"I love having somebody I know, their work ethic, the way they make decisions, the fact that they know all the players in the city and all the different issues that are involved. That is tremendously beneficial. There's a real home-field advantage to that," Hibbard said. "But I still wonder if it's not the best process to go through a search and, at the end of the day, Miss Poirrier is clearly the best candidate, I won't have any hesitance in making that decision."

"I, too, have been incredibly impressed with her performance in her role of interim city manager," said Vice Mayor Kathleen Beckman . "She has shown great leadership in addressing issues. She has shown incredible transparency in matters of urgency. These qualities are very difficult to determine in interviewing candidates. Therefore, how important and valuable it is to have first-hand experience with candidates and their performance. But I think it's part of due diligence and good governance to go through that process."

"I, too, have been very impressed with Jennifer but I do agree a search is a good idea," said council member Mark Bunker. "The struggles we've had in the last two searches show us it's not going to be easy. And the scandals we've have recently and the departure of Jon Jennings is going to make it even more difficult. But I think it's worth it going through the process to see if there's somebody out there we should consider."

The council turned to Poirrier who sat at the dais, listening to the conversation.

"Whatever's the will of the council, I'm happy," she said. "It has certainly been an incredible experience these last few weeks and we'll just keep doing what we've been doing, which is being responsive to the staff the council and the residents."

The comments from council members indicated that Poirrier would have no problem garnering the four votes needed to appoint her city manager, as required by the city's charter, if the council decides to act at its regular council meeting on Thursday.

Poirrier came to the city of Clearwater in August 2018 as the human resources assistant director and was soon promoted to human resources director.

Prior to coming to Clearwater, she worked as the human resources director for the city of Treasure Island for more than nine years.

Poirrier completed her bachelor's of applied science degree in business and human resources at the University of South Florida and her master's of business administration in human resources at Florida Atlantic University.

She is certified through the High Performance Leadership Academy, is a certified Professional in Human Resources and is a member of the International City/County Management Association.

The salary for the Clearwater city manager ranges from $210,000 to $270,000 a year and includes 100 percent paid health care, dental, life and disability insurance coverage and a $600-a-month vehicle allowance.