Closed Sessions Get Council Closer to HR Hire

The Hyattsville City Council is nearing the end of its and an announcement could be made as early as next week.

In a series of closed session city leaders have been narrowing their choices for the position. The meetings have been closed to the public, citing the discussion of "personnel matters", to protect the bargaining position of the city at the negotiating table.

said that the City Council intends to have a public discussion about the hiring decisions being made behind closed doors.

"In the next week, we'll be able to discuss them," said Perry. "We will have a discussion in the open. Right now we are basically in contract negotiations, and we cannot discuss any of it until those are finalized."

City Councilors contacted for this article declined to speak specifically about the nature of their closed door meetings. But the circumstances surrounding the human resources director position, including City Council's desire to pursue a reorganization of municipal staff, mean that Hyattsville's leaders are left with little choice but to hire for the position before any of the other multiple city staff vacancies.

When asked if the personnel meetings were related to the hiring of an assistant city administrator or a human resources director, two high ranking city staff vacancies at the moment, singled out the human resources director position before saying that city leaders are eager to hire for a number of openings.

"That, particularly, is at the top of everyone's priority list," said Warner.

She noted that the City Council is interested in trying out a reorganization proposed by Communications Director Abby Sandel, one of Hyattsville's highest ranked municipal employees, which could streamline operations. But the reorganization cannot happen until the city hires a human resources director, said Warner.

Warner also noted a full slate of vacancies which the city has advertised. The list includes a supervisor for the Department of Public Works, a supervisor for trash pickup, an IT manager and a cable station manager.

"Because we have so many openings, Abby Sandel came up with a proposal to re-organize the departments" said Warner. "So, once an HR director is hired, that's the first thing they are going to do."

In 2009, the city commissioned a study of its management efficiency, which found that human resources was the area identified for the most improvement.

The position was originally advertised at the manager level,

Former councilor and human resources administrator It was he who suggested adding more responsibility to the position.

City councilors contacted for this article said that the closed meetings have stuck to topics acceptable for closed sessions.

"Occasionally someone will start to talk about something that might not be closed session material," said Warner. "Someone immediately steps in and says that's not a closed session topic, or the attorney would correct."

could not comment on the specific matters addressed in closed session beyond the brief descriptions offered on the agendas. He stressed that the closed sessions were intended to protect the interest of the taxpayers by maintaining the city's bargaining position behind closed doors. He also said that the council has been sticking fairly closely to sanctioned closed session topics.

"I'm a stickler for that sort of thing," said Hunt in an interview.

The salary for the Hyattsville's human resources director will be anywhere from $75,000 to $90,000 per year. The director will be in charge of recruiting city staff, overseeing employee training and will be an integral part in the city's administrative management team. The city of Hyattsville has roughly 120 employees.

contributed to this report.