Pictured: Jeff Cayler speaks with councilmembers during Monday’s meeting.
The Carroll City Council voted unanimously at last night’s (Monday) meeting to appoint former Carroll Police Chief Jeff Cayler to serve as interim City Manager following next month’s departure of current City Manager Mike Pogge-Weaver. Pogge-Weaver’s recommendation to the council was to consider choosing one of the longer-tenured department heads or an individual with extensive experience in municipal management. Mayor Mark Beardmore says one of the first names to come to mind was Cayler, who has been a frequent face at council meetings for the last 40 years.
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During the council meeting, Cayler indicated he was willing to serve as city manager until Pogge-Weaver’s successor is chosen. Cayler says he has the added benefit of being intimately familiar with the community and its residents.
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The only remaining question was Cayler’s compensation. City officials calculated this by taking the low end of the city’s projected annual salary for the position and converting that into an hourly wage, which equates to just under $53 per hour. Cayler will also receive benefits that come with employment by the City of Carroll. He will take up the city manager’s responsibilities effective on Nov. 4, but Cayler will likely begin before Pogge-Weaver’s final day on Nov. 3 to facilitate the transition. Carroll is expected to be without a permanent city manager through at least January. The council did approve a contract Monday with Midwest Municipal Consulting (MMC) to begin an estimated nine-week search for city manager applicants. MMC is the firm that assisted the city in its recent searches for new Parks and Recreation and Library Directors. Councilmen Tom Bordenaro and LaVern Dirks say they preferred MMC’s short search window and familiarity with Carroll.
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The project timeline shows a list of finalists to be presented to the city council in a closed session around Nov. 14, with formal interviews slated for Dec. 9 and 10. Ideally, the chosen candidate would likely begin in January. Other items on the agenda for Monday’s meeting included updates to the Adams Street reconstruction project, changes to the city’s standard penalty for code violations, ATV/UTV ordinance updates, and more. Carroll Broadcasting will bring you more on these topics in upcoming newscasts. Full video from the council meeting is also included below.
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