The Morgan Hill City Council thinks their next city manager is already working at City Hall. The five-member council is conducting an internal search to promote an existing city employee to Morgan Hill’s top staff position before October.
The current city manager, Steve Rymer, recently finalized a contract with the City of Rochester, Minn., to work as their city administrator starting Oct. 12, Rymer recently told the Times. He will continue to work in his current post until Sept. 30.
Rymer has worked for the City of Morgan Hill since 2006, starting in the Recreation and Community Services Department. In 2013, the council appointed him to the city manager’s position.
He decided to apply for and accept the position in Rochester due to his family roots in Minnesota, as well as the city’s up-and-coming status as a “very progressive,” growing community, Rymer said. Rochester is the third largest city in Minnesota, with a population of about 107,000.
“All those pieces together made it an exciting professional and personal opportunity,” Rymer said.
The council is moving quickly to find Rymer’s successor, but the mayor is confident they’ll find the right candidate without looking too far. At a July 31 closed session meeting, the council decided to begin an “immediate internal recruitment for the next city manager,” according to a press release from Morgan Hill Communications and Engagement Manager Maureen Tobin.
And the city is reaching out to residents to determine what they would like to see in a new city manager. An online survey circulated by Tobin via email asks residents about their preferred qualities and capabilities in a new city manager for Morgan Hill.
An internal recruitment is a sharply different strategy from the council’s search for a city manager when Ed Tewes retired from the position in 2013. At that time, the council hired executive search firm Ralph Andersen & Associates to conduct a nationwide search for a new city manager. That search ended with the appointment of Rymer.
But now, Mayor Steve Tate said, “We’ve got more than one extremely well qualified candidate” already working at City Hall, and it’s going to be a difficult choice for the council to make. He added that he sent a note to all city employees just after the July 31 meeting, inviting those interested to submit applications and cover letters by Friday, Aug. 11. Shortly after that, the council will begin interviewing the top applicants.
Tate declined to list the city manager candidates he has in mind before they submit applications.
City employees who report directly to the city manager, in accordance with the city’s most recent organizational chart, are Assistant City Manager for Community Development Leslie Little; Assistant City Manager for Administrative Services Christina Turner; Police Chief David Swing; Fire Chief Derek Witmer; Community Services Director Chris Ghione; Engineering and Utilities Director; Administrative Analyst Hilary Holeman; and Tobin.
The council’s search is not limited to these employees. And public safety chiefs are apparently not ruled out. When asked about his inclusion of Swing as a possible applicant at a recent community meeting—where he listed the city’s department heads and assistant city managers as likely candidates—Tate said, “Chief Swing is a very strong possible candidate, but one of several that are qualified.”
Swing, who has worked for MHPD since 1995, cautiously told the Times he is “absolutely interested” in the city manager’s position, but he doesn’t want the process to become a distraction from his current responsibilities leading the police department. He added he is “honored” that Tate touted his qualifications, and agreed there are other city employees who are well suited for the position.
“I have a police department that is an amazing department that does tremendous work for our community,” Swing said. “I have a tremendous fondness for our city, and what it looks like, and what it can look like in the future.”
Other city employees contacted about their potential interest in the city manager search did not return phone calls before the Times’ print deadline.
The council hopes to appoint the new city manager before Rymer’s last day on the job.
Tate added about the process, “Appointing internally will ease and speed up the transition process while providing consistency for our staff to continue addressing the many complex issues we face. It will also boost the already high morale in the organization.”
Rymer will ‘miss’ MH
Rymer, who submitted his formal resignation to the council Aug. 1, said working for the City of Morgan Hill has been a “fantastic experience.” He listed among his accomplishments as city manager—without taking full credit—the creation of a “dedicated, hard working” crew of colleagues at City Hall; a post-Redevelopment Agency settlement with the county that allowed Morgan Hill to rebuild its downtown; the completion of a General Plan update in 2016; the passage of the voter-approved Measure S growth control update; and the completion of the city’s new master plans for parks and public safety.
The RDA settlement in 2013 freed up more than $19 million in bond proceeds previously acquired by the city’s agency, which was shut down by the state in 2012. These funds later went to use rebuilding Morgan Hill’s downtown with a new parking garage, resurfaced side streets, utility undergrounding and other investment.
“One of the things I’m most proud of is the team we brought together throughout the entire organization,” Rymer said. “They are dedicated (and) hardworking.”
This teamwork led to the RDA settlement with the county and state, which brought a collective $80 million worth of private and public investment into downtown Morgan Hill.
“Professionally and personally, I’m going to miss Morgan Hill,” Rymer said. “This is a really great place, with a great council and a great team.”
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Questions or comments about the Morgan Hill City Council’s city manager recruitment process can be directed to Mayor Steve Tate, at (408) 310-4647, or
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