Panama City Commission selects Jonathan Hayes as new city manager in 4-1 vote

PANAMA CITY — A new but familiar face will now help lead the city.

In a special meeting on Friday, Panama City commissioners voted 4-1 to make Jonathan Hayes the new city manager. They reached the decision after publicly interviewing both Hayes, who is the former public works director for Panama City and Darnell Ingram, the other top candidate, who is general counsel and chief compliance officer for Baltimore.

Following the interviews, Commissioner Janice Lucas made a motion to select Ingram. It failed 3-2, with Mayor Michael Rohan the only other leader in favor of her suggestion.

Commissioner Brian Grainger then made a motion for Hayes, which was approved 4-1.

Lucas shifted her voted to work in unity with the commission majority, while Rohan still voted in opposition of Hayes.

"Mr. Hayes, you have proven yourself to be steadfast," Lucas said at the meeting. "You bring experience, and while you're not my first choice, it is apparent you will be the next city manager. We make decisions, and then we move forward."

"I appreciate Commissioner Lucas' comments," Commissioner Josh Street added. "My goal through this process (was finding) a way for us to move forward together."

The meeting was formatted where both candidates sat in front of the commission and members of the public. Each candidate was given an opportunity to make an opening statement on why they are best suited for the position. They then were asked the same list of questions, alternating who answered first.

Here are their opening statements, as well as a handful of questions and their responses.

Opening statements

Hayes: "I believe my experience in executive management, financial oversight, customer service, sales, marketing, business development, strategic planning, communications — both in the public and private sectors — has prepared me for such a position as this. With my expansive knowledge of management and operations of the federal government, as well as the last two years of local government experience here in Panama City, if given the chance, I will step into this role without missing a beat. ... I will take my intimate and deep knowledge of Panama City's history, geography, people, communities and politics to hit the ground running."

Ingram: "I had a written, oral statement that I wanted to share, but as I heard a few comments today and I'm reading right in front of me 'in God we trust,' I need to speak from my heart. I am a Floridian. I was born and raised in Duval County. ... (If chosen as) the next city manager, my fellow residents, the mayor and commission need to know who I am as a person, because I don't take it for granted that I am coming from Baltimore City, but it's a distinction that I'm proud of. I was able to garner so much experience as a Floridian to bring back home. I'm reminded of Joshua when they left Egypt and going back home to the promised land. It's time for me to come home. Come home with my experiences. Come home with my technical acumen, my legal experiences and my ability to get the job done."

Q: What is the biggest budget you have managed?

Hayes: "The largest budget that I managed ... with a more direct oversight would have been $4.5 billion inside the Department of Health and Human Services as the director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. When I got moved to the assistant secretary of preparedness and response as a senior adviser and then acting chief of staff, that budget was $55 billion. At $55 billion, that was much more of a collaborative team, and the budget director did not report directly to me, but I did help oversee that."

Ingram: "For me, the biggest budget is currently where I'm working in a collaborative effort, (and) the budget is $1.2 billion. We oversee a stormwater utility, a water utility (and) wastewater treatment plant, as well as solid waste facilities. We also generate revenue to reduce the cost to residents."

Q: What opportunities does your experience bring to Panama City?

Ingram: "One unique idea that I would appreciate the opportunity to bring to Panama City is (a) light rail (that would) connect Panama City North to Panama City proper. ... You're able to generate revenue from the light rail opportunities and also have synergy with the surrounding cities as well."

Hayes: "I think in a lot of ways we need to get back to basics here at the local level. I know we have a lot of large projects moving forward, and those will continue to move forward. ... Local government is about roads, commodes, security and safety. ... I think with some of the infrastructure, we've got to get back to basics and come up with some more long-term, sustainable options where we can control more of our own destiny."

Q: How would you effectively communicate with different city departments?

Hayes: "There's only so much you can do through cellphones and email. I think we rely on those, (and) I think there is a good and necessary place for those, but I think sometimes just getting in a room together and solving a problem and making sure that we're all on the same page ... is critical. I think regular staff huddles are critical."

Ingram: "One approach that I consistently used in (my position) is collaborative communication. ... In this collaborative communication, you bring in all the relevant stakeholders who have a touch to a particular issue or problem. ... There's three things I state before I have those conversations to mitigate and alleviate miscommunication: Know where you are, know what you have, and know where you're going."

Q: What is the most employees you have managed?

Ingram: "Currently in my role as the general counsel and chief compliance officer, we manage a little over 2,500 employees."

Hayes: "I've had the responsibility for several hundred employees at HHS and the office of refugee resettlement, and then about 800 when I moved over to the assistant secretary of preparedness and response. ... I think the better question would be my direct reports. How many do I directly manage. ... I would say my direct reports has been consistently from seven up to 20 over the last 15 years."

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Q: How would you help the city not repeat its past mistakes and create a strategic vision for the future?

Hayes: "I think it's no secret that the city went decades without property investing in the infrastructure (of) our underground utilities, our lift stations, our wastewater treatment plants and our roads. I think that's showing today. ... As we move forward, I think we need to always be mindful of the future and set out a destination for that which we want to go."

Ingram: "The first thing I would meet with each commissioner to do is discuss developing a master plan ... that (works with) not just Panama City, but your surrounding communities. The master plan would help with your infrastructure because as I look through and study what's going on (here, I see) fire hydrants not working and millions of gallons of waste pouring into the city. ... I would put in a compliance program to address our infrastructure problems, what are the bottlenecks, what are the issues and what are the financing hurdles."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Commission selects Jonathan Hayes as new city manager