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Oxford, Maryland officials have some serious questions to answer after they hired Michael Calvert as the new town manager and signed him to a contract on June 26th, only to release him three days later when citizen research discovered previous criminal convictions in 1994 for indecent exposure to children. Here is the article about that incident:
It reportedly cost Oxford $20,000 and a lot of red faces to end that embarrassment. Tens of thousands of dollars to get Calvert to "go away," because he should never have made it to an interview and certainly not been hired. It is approximately the same amount of money it would have cost to use an accredited, professional hiring firm to effectively see the town through the hiring process ensuring candidates for town manager would, at the very least, not be convicted criminals.
When long time Town Manager Cheryl Lewis announced her retirement earlier this year, the Commissioners discussed contracting a hiring firm for her replacement, a replacement several Commissioners described as the town's "most important hire in decades." Commissioner Katrina Greer wanted to hire a professional search firm to complete the process, but Commissioners Costigan and Botkin did not and out voted her.
At the suggestion of Commissioner President Tom Costigan, they created a "compromise" that allowed the local search to start online and if no suitable candidates were found in 30 days, THEN enlist the help of a hiring firm.
With that compromise, the Commissioners doomed the Town of Oxford to conducting their own hiring process at the potential peril of their citizens. The INDEED search they used attracted few suitable candidates in total and only one, Calvert, was presented to the Town Commissioners for a decision. Since it was within the 30 days, the Commissioners avoided doing the right thing and hiring a search firm. Now, rumor has it that they are still trying to avoid doing the search the professional way.
One of the job candidates who was in the initial search withdrew their application after talking to the town. They called the process conducted by town staff "unfocused, unclear, and disorganized." The applicant said that it was "clear the people conducting the search did not know what or who they wanted." The applicant didn't go to an interview for that reason. As an experienced professional, the applicant could tell from the process of the search that something was not quite right.
Some claim it was sabotage on the part of retiring Town Manager Cheryl Lewis who participated in and likely directed the process under the loose supervision of the Commissioners. She should not have participated in the search in any capacity, but since she did, she had to know that a thorough criminal background check was required. It's unclear if the search "team" neglected to do the check or to make sure it was completed properly.
Others say it was just a new level of incompetence that could have put town residents and their children at risk.
Now the town has to move past this black eye moment. Oxford can't do that until citizens fully understand the errors made.
ERROR #1: The Town's Job Application:
Below is the town's job application from the website. It is the same application used for ALL positions. See what you notice about the questions:
Seems like a normal application, correct? If you compare this application to applications from other towns, you will determine what is missing from Oxford's:
We helped you out with the highlighting.
Notice the difference? Both Berlin and Chestertown, like many other local towns/cities, ask if the applicant has ever been convicted of a felony. Oxford doesn't.
For a bigger contrast, look at this qualification and background report done by a professional hiring firm for the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida:
In particular, pay attention to page 16 of the summary where this candidate gives full disclosure of his criminal and financial history. He also lists social media accounts so the search firm and the employer will be able to see if there are any problems online that will haunt the applicant or the city later.
People might wonder if Oxford needs to require this kind of "deep dive" into their applicants. They might also wonder if every applicant needs the same kind of depth that a police chief for a large city requires. If an applicant is applying to be a public employee that handles confidential information about citizens in their town and/or public financial accounts, the answer is yes. The size of the town or the scope of the job doesn't negate the need for protection of a town's citizens from potential criminal activity.
Also, the State of Maryland requires background checks for employment or licensing purposes. If you’re seeking employment or licensure within the state, your employer or licensing agency must request a background record check1 *
The lack of the question on the application for Oxford doesn't mean that they don't require a background check, it just means it was not on the application. It also may indicate to an applicant that they don't need to disclose criminal charges. In Mr. Calvert's case, it seems clear he didn't feel the need to disclose his past and we still are not sure if a criminal background check was conducted and who did it.
ERROR #2. The Town used INDEED as the main search instrument: As referenced in previous articles, Commissioner Greer wanted to engage a professional search firm for the position of Town Manager. The town even conducted a workshop on what search firms do:
Oxford Commissioners Conduct Town Manager Search Workshop - Easton Gazette
And received feedback from professionals who have used or worked for search firms:
However, Oxford administration, under the recommendation of Commissioners Costigan and Botkin, decided to use the town's INDEED account to do the search.
This is what INDEED looks like online:
The above screenshot shows INDEED as it would look to an applicant. Employers sign up for a subscription and then put in the search terms for applicants they are looking for. The Town of Oxford has a subscription to INDEED that is controlled by the Town Manager. It seems finding applicants is as easy as ordering a take-out pizza. And it is.
Oxford wasn't ordering pizza. We were looking for a manager who would make upwards of $100,000 a year.
The algorithm of INDEED takes the words put into the search by the employer and then spits out the names of ANY job seeker who has those terms in their profile. Words like "manager" or "administrator" etc. can yield candidates that range from a fast-food manager to a high school principal. INDEED's claim to fame is that it can generate candidates, it doesn't guarantee their suitability or quality.
That's not what a town needs when hiring a Town Manager. This recent hire cost Oxford tens of thousands of dollars to send him packing. Even worse, the town could have hired a man with questionable ethics and potentially dangerous tendencies. Let's not forget those criminal charges discovered by two private citizens.
When asked about using INDEED for a job search as important as Oxford's Town Manager, David Deutsch, seasoned city manager with over 40 years of experience, who has held significant roles in municipal administration in Bowie, Maryland and Springettsbury Township in Pennsylvania and has been the recipient of national awards said, "The answer is not an "Indeed" search where you get a lot of chaff and not much wheat."
Apparently, Oxford got the chaff. Expensive and potentially harmful chaff.
ERROR #3: Allowed Current Town Manager to Search for New Town Manager: Whenever we asked people about the practice of having the current town manager interview candidates for her job, the overwhelming response was, "You're kidding, right? No way!"
With all the potential for conflict of interest, ulterior or hidden motives, this should have been a no brainer. Sadly, it wasn't and now the town's process has left many citizens to wonder whether this debacle was created via incompetence or design. We'll leave it to our readers to decide. At the very least, the search was not conducted properly.
HOW DOES THE TOWN MOVE FORWARD?
First, we need to remove the job listing from INDEED. We have milked that cow and what we got was sour. We can't afford another costly mistake because we wanted to do something "cheap." You get what you pay for.
Some have suggested getting a "search" committee together made up of residents and letting them conduct the search and hiring. Again, you get what you pay for. There are many good professionals in town, but to involve them in a decision of this magnitude would unnecessarily put them and the town at risk for not only hiring another mistake, but also for a lawsuit if things are not done properly. Even those who may have been human resources people in their past will not have the resources. bonding, insurance and/or legal protection and guidance needed to conduct this job.
And then there could be conflicts of interest with a citizen search committee that a professional search firm will eliminate.
Also, if things go awry, do we want our fellow citizens to be the "fall guys"?
At least with elected Commissioners, there is a built-in accountability factor when they make the ultimate decision to hire. It's called an election or even possible recall. Those elected officials have legal protection in case they falter. The only people on the hook are the taxpayers. However, those Commissioners need to know that the candidates presented are qualified, professional, and without a criminal background.
We need to hire a qualified, well regarded, impartial search firm to conduct this search. As we have seen in the past, the position of town manager requires unquestionable integrity, honesty, professionalism and intelligence in managing a town with a budget of over 2 million dollars, grants in the tens of millions, and a citizenry who knows what good management is and isn't. A professional search firm would do the hard work and, if things go awry, the town and citizens are legally and financially protected.
As for the interim, we should not hire back the old Town Manager even on a temporary basis. While Ms. Lewis did do some good things for the town during her time here, this last mess was just one more in a long line of alleged controversial missteps during her tenure which included nepotism (hiring her daughter without full disclosure), conflicts of interest, favoritism to certain town residents, employees, businesses, and contractors, unresponsiveness to residents regarding public information, sloppy grant management, administrative overreach etc. To bring her back into the town office will prevent the town from moving on to a more professional and fair administration. What's retired should stay retired.
We have no one currently in the town office that has all the experience or skills to be the town manager. Each of these employees has their own unique skills, but not all the skills that the manager's job requires. In light of recent events, we need an experienced hand at the wheel. If they wish to apply for the position once it is readvertised, then they can go through the process with other applicants. Just like our current Police Chief did.
This staff can certainly maintain the business of the town under their current job descriptions while ALL the Town Commissioners carefully supervise.
If we anticipate the hiring process will take so long that we need additional office help, there are many agencies that offer interim town managers who can hold down the fort while the search is conducted. We've been told that the current staff is not in favor of an interim manager. That is not their call. The Commissioners need to do what is best for the town and what is within their purview. Besides, having an interim manager would allow the current employees to fully complete their jobs without overwhelming them with extra work.
The bottom line is that the only way to conduct a search that will yield the best candidates for a permanent hire and remove personal biases is to engage a professional, accredited search firm.
Hiring a professional search firm will require a different approach from the typical town request for proposal. Most hiring firms only respond to direct contact from clients. That means the town has to reach out to different firms and determine services provided and fees charged. Here are some firms we found online:
Municipal Solutions Recruiting
Ralph Andersen & Associates | Executive Job Search & HR Consulting
Public Sector Executive Recruitment - Baker Tilly
Executive Recruitment - Raftelis
All of the above offer search services that will bring better candidates to Oxford than any cheap online search engine can. The Commissioners, once they have all the information in front of them, can choose the firm that best meets Oxford's needs and budget. The costs for their services generally range from $20,000 to $50,000 for a search depending on various factors and the needs of the client.
Here is a sample packet that Municipal Solutions sent out for a city's Executive Director position:
Imagine the quality candidates attracted by that advertisement. While Oxford's brochure would be different, it's not hard to imagine the impact information and image professionally prepared on a document like this would have on potential applicants.
The Town of Oxford can no longer pretend that the hiring practices of the past will get them what the citizens need and deserve. The world has changed in the last ten years and the job of Town Manager requires more skill, discretion, and integrity than ever before. A Town Manager has to truly understand the purpose of the job, which is to serve our town, take direction from elected officials/citizens, communicate honestly, transparently and openly with town residents and businesses, work side by side with other departments and fulfill the mission and goals of the town as defined by the citizens and our charter, not by one or two people.
Let's hope the Town Commissioners have learned their collective lesson from this hiring disaster. They need to do what is right for the town and conduct the search for Town Manager using a professional, accredited recruiting firm. Citizens of the town deserve not only the best recruiting process, but one that will assure that the candidates recruited have been fully vetted and background checked and will be supremely qualified to do the job.
We are calling on the Town Commissioners to work as a team and hire a firm and begin this process NOW in the correct, professional way to protect our town. It's the only way Oxford can move forward successfully.
A town meeting will be held this Tuesday, July 9th at 6:00 p.m. As always, we encourage everyone to attend.
We recommend people write a letter to the commissioners about this issue and have their letter read aloud at this meeting and put into the minutes, here are the addresses of the Commissioners and the Town Attorney: (We have not included Appointed Commissioner Susan Botkin on this list since she will not be in office as of Tuesday. We have included Commissioner Elect Norm Bell since he will be sworn in on Tuesday.)
Commissioner Tom Costigan: [email protected]
Commissioner Katrina Greer: [email protected]
Commissioner Elect: [email protected]
Lindsay Ryan: (Town attorney): [email protected]
Town Office: [email protected]
If you are unable to attend the meeting, you can ask that your letter be read aloud at the meeting and entered into the minutes.
*Maryland has a "ban the box" law which is explained here and doesn't apply to Oxford. Also, Oxford could fit under the exemptions to that law.
