Roswell’s new city administrator will start work Nov. 1 with a City Council in disagreement on the timing of his hiring.
During a special-called meeting Wednesday, City Council approved the hiring of Randy Knighton, the current city manager of Stockbridge, in a 4-3 vote.
Henry praised Knighton. “I think he will be an excellent leader for the city of Roswell,” Henry said. “... From my conversations with him (during) the interview process, I feel like he will be a stabilizing force. He will also be a force that can take us into the future and I am very, very confident in his abilities ...”
But City Council members who voted against Knighton’s hiring said Henry rushed the process of finding a replacement for former city administrator Gary Palmer, who resigned June 1. They said they wanted the selection of a new city administrator to wait until after the November election. That would’ve given the city more time to conduct the search and allow for the possibility of a new mayor and three new council members to weigh in on the decision.
Voters will cast a ballot to fill the four seats in the Nov. 2 election — one day after the new administrator begins work.
Roswell hired Mercer Group search firm to look for suitable candidates across the U.S., city spokesperson Julie Brechbill told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier in September. Knighton was the sole finalist from 33 applicants, according to the city.
Knighton could not be reached for comment.
Henry told City Council that Mercer Group advised her that Roswell wouldn’t get many qualified candidates “because of the dysfunction of this council and the concern people have coming to a city where there is this much division among council that is done in the public.”
Henry, councilwoman Marie Willsey and councilmen Matthew Tyser and Matt Judy voted in favor of hiring Knighton. Council members Christine Hall, Marcelo Zapata and Mike Palermo were opposed.
During discussion before the vote, Judy said timing of the hiring of Knighton is similar to October 2017 when former City Administrator Palmer was unanimously approved by the council ahead of a November election. Henry was serving as a City Council member at the time, along with Zapata and Palermo.
“As we can see, the then-city administrator is no longer with us today,” Zapata said. “So we need to learn from our experiences and perfect the process and not make the same mistakes.”
Following a special-called meeting Sept. 14 to approve Knighton as the finalist for the position, Zapata told the AJC he worried if the new mayor and council members wanted to fire Knighton, the city could be on the hook for a costly severance package.
In Roswell a city administrator’s salary includes a severance package of up to nine months if the person is fired for no reason.
About the Author
