Chesapeake city manager plans 'smooth' exit

CHESAPEAKE

Mayor Alan Krasnoff got a text message from Councilman Rick West on Thursday afternoon: "Done."

The Hampton Roads Transit board, of which West is a member, had unanimously voted to make Chesapeake City Manager William Harrell its next CEO and president.

"Did he even say yes to it?" Krasnoff asked shortly after the vote. "Let me first get his resignation and go from there."

For more than a month, the city has known Harrell was among three finalists for the HRT position, and for weeks council members knew he was thefront-runner. Councilman C.E. "Cliff" Hayes, who also sits on the HRT board, is concerned that the council did not begin to meet formally to consider possible next steps if Harrell were to leave.

"Sooner rather than later, we need to begin our search process," Hayes said.

West said waiting for the board to make its selection was the better way to go.

"You don't want to plan something like that and make it look like you're kicking him out the door if he doesn't get it," he said.

After five years as Chesapeake's city manager, Harrell said he will give the council his resignation letter today and step down at the end of March. He will begin his new job April 2.

He said he will stay on to present next fiscal year's budget in mid-March.

"I was really clear to the mayor and council I was going to ensure a smooth transition."

With the city facing a nearly $13 million deficit, Harrell said the balanced budget he will propose will include service cuts and likely layoffs, but no tax increases. The budget, he said, will be the next manager's biggest challenge.

Harrell listed improving the city's financial standing with bond rating agencies, addressing community concerns, and working closely with the council as the highlights of his work as city manager.

He also cited securing state funding for the Dominion Boulevard expansion project - the City Council's No. 1 priority for years - as a top accomplishment, along with connecting Fentress-area residents to city water after concerns about fly ash runoff from the Battlefield Golf Club at Centerville.

"The role of city manager is a difficult one," Harrell said. "When you're dealing with nine (bosses on the City Council), it certainly is a challenge."

The average tenure of a city manager in Chesapeake is five years.

Dwight Parker, a former councilman for 14 years, said city managers serve as change agents, then move on. "You've got to be kind of a political animal to deal with nine different people."

Harrell said to be successful, his successor must have thick skin, the ability to work with council members, and a knack for creative approaches to the budget.

At Harrell's most recent City Council performance evaluation over the summer, dozens of people packed the council chambers to support him, fearing some of the city's elected officials wanted him out. That was the first time the public had showed up in big numbers to speak on a council appointee before an annual review, several city officials confirmed.

Ultimately, Harrell kept his job and got a raise.

Harrell's salary at HRT will be $235,000, up from just over $180,000 in his current post.

Krasnoff said the city will soon appoint an interim city manager and launch a national search to fill the position. He did not say how long the process might take. Clarence Cuffee, Harrell's predecessor, became city manager after serving in an interim capacity. It was nine months between the time Cuffee died and when Harrell was named in March 2007.

"We want to get the best for Chesapeake," Hayes said. "But we also want to make sure that we not only look for somebody who matches our needs on paper - we want someone who can match our needs in terms of relationships. Personality is important, too."

Marjon Rostami, 757-222-5207, marjon.rostami@pilotonline.com