Interim city manager deserves chance to right the ship at City Hall
Gainesville Interim City Manager Cynthia Curry doesn’t act like someone with a title that suggests she is in the position temporarily. Curry describes herself as a “get things done” person and has already started making significant changes in city government after just a couple months on the job.
Curry has started a government reorganization that eliminated the positions of three assistant city managers. The layoffs prompted one city commissioner — David Arreola, who has already announced he’s running for mayor — to question their timing and impact.
But other commissioners and community leaders have rightly called for giving Curry the chance to do the job for which she was hired without interference. Commissioners forced out two city managers in a span of only two years, while at the same time the city had a series of high-profile resignations, so they shouldn’t micromanage the person hired to right the ship at City Hall.
Of course, eliminating people's jobs — including an assistant finance director suing the city over alleged gender discrimination by the previous city manager — sends an ominous message in an origination already suffering from morale problems. Yet, while the timing of the assistant finance director’s layoff was bad — coming right after the lawsuit was flied — a state audit has shown that problems in the city’s finance department in particular have been allowed to fester for far too long.
The audit found that finance staff lacked the knowledge and capability required to prepare financial statements that met accepted accounting practices over a three-year period, among other problems. Curry changed the assistant finance director’s job into a controller position as part of changes to the department.
She has also created a chief operating officer position for city government, with Gainesville Police Department Chief Tony Jones filling the position and Lonnie Scott serving as acting police chief until a long-term COO is hired. Hopefully all the changes establish clearer lines of authority and communication.
The challenge is making changes that stick rather than leading to another shakeup in just a few years. City commissioners should give Curry the leeway to accomplish that task while focusing their attention on structural problems with city government that fall outside the city manager’s authority, such as reforming the city’s system of charter officers.
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Gainesville needs an effective city government, especially with so many major decisions looming such as spending millions in federal COVID-19 relief and infrastructure funding. With Curry moving Public Works Director Phil Mann into a special assignment as an advisor on capital projects and infrastructure, an emphasis should be placed on getting work started as soon as possible — particularly on long-delayed eastside redevelopment projects.
Curry’s creation of a chief housing strategist position is a good sign that affordable housing is a top priority. She told a Gainesville For All meeting Monday that she is focused on neighborhoods and collaborating with community members and groups, an approach that is needed in order to garner support from residents.
She said she is fully dedicated to the job no matter whether the interim part of her title means city commissioners keep her in the position for weeks, months or years. Residents should be rooting for her to succeed in making city government more effective and responsive in serving our community.
— The Gainesville Sun Editorial Board
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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Editorial: Give Gainesville city manager chance to make changes
