Council discusses proposal to rename manager selection group

Following confusion over the role of a town manager selection committee and the hiring process that led to some candidates to drop out of the running for the position, a Miami Lakes councilmember is pushing for some changes.
Councilmember Josh Dieguez proposed to rename the committee the Miami Lakes Town Manager Selection Advisory Committee and amend the criteria for picking future candidates.
Though his colleagues approved of the name change, they shied away from creating new criteria for the selection process since future council members might want their own requirements for the committee and the town manager selection process.
Dieguez said the original name of the town manager selection committee created a lack of understanding and was misleading among committee members, residents and candidates seeking the top executive job.
“We saw during our town manager selection process how the current name of this committee creates the false and misleading impression that its members will select the new town manager or deliver a particular recommendation,” Dieguez said at the January 15 regular meeting. “One candidate dropped out because he believed the committee chose the candidate and not the town council. This led to a great deal of confusion resulting in a late start to the members’ deliberations and the resignation of an original member.”
Vice Mayor Nelson Rodriguez agreed to change the name of the committee but would rather allow future council members to determine their own criteria for the committee.
“We have a great new town manager and hopefully we don’t have to go through the town manager search for a long time,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t to want encumber any future council.”
The town’s attorney, Raul Gastesi, who was the liaison for the committee and council members, said the group was confused on its role during the selection process.
“Some actually thought they were going to pick the next town manager,” Gastesi said. “There were some confusion and I agree with the name change.”
The town manager selection committee, Gastesi and the town’s Human Resource department screened the candidates’ resumes and applications and the committee subsequently interviewed 17 candidates who made the first cut.
The group narrowed its list to five finalists, and Ed Pidermann was council members’ unanimous choice for the job.
He replaced Alex Rey, the town manager for 16 years, who’s retiring to take advantage of the government’s Deferred Retirement Option Program, also known as DROP.