HOPE — A month after declining to automatically retain town manager J.T. Doane, the Hope Town Council appears uncertain whether they want to even keep the job.
During a discussion lasting only a few minutes, council president Ohmer Miller proposed the town consider hiring an administrative assistant, instead of a town manager.
That was immediately followed by councilwoman Nellie Meek, who suggested that hiring an office clerk might be an adequate alternative.
But neither suggestion inspired a conversation, much less support, from other council members on Tuesday at the Hope Town Council meeting.
“I think we need to do more discussing and more thinking on this,” council member Ed Johnson. “Give us a couple of weeks to absorb this.”
The town council earlier voted 3-2 that the position of town manager, as well as other jobs, should be competitively bid on an annual basis, rather than continued as a contractual employee. Annual job bidding has not been the town’s practice for established employees previously.
On Tuesday, the council debated whether they should also bid the position of Building and Zoning Superintendent, which is currently held by Greg Potts.
Although the current administrator is reportedly prepared to submit a 2019 bid for the job, Meek said she didn’t feel the council needed to seek other bids unless Potts wanted more money than expected.
After town attorney Scott Andrews helped establish that Potts is considered an contractor, rather than a town employee, the council voted to post the position and accept bids at their February meeting.
“We have to leave it open for other people to bid for it,” councilman Clyde Compton said.
However, the delay means Potts will likely have to work without a contract during at least one Hope Plan Commission meeting, commission member Randy Sims said.
In regard to two other town employees, the council unanimously voted to provide 3 percent salary raises to both utility superintendent David Clouse and town marshal Matt Tallent. Their raises were made retroactive to the beginning of the year.
In organizational business, the council voted 3-2 to allow Miller to serve a second consecutive year as council president. The only two members who supported retaining Doane as town manager last month — Compton and Jerry Bragg — voted against retaining Miller as council president.
