The council has seven members and Dr. Kelly Clark, Ben Wagner and John Centers, who is filling the unexpired term of Marc Bellapianta, are not up for re-election. Their terms end on Dec. 31, 2025.
The general election is Nov. 7.
The Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton hosted a candidate forum Monday night in Council Chambers. The forum was moderated by Patricia Sowell, a para-legal from Deceuninck North America and a member of the chamber’s Government Relations Committee.
One of the biggest decisions facing council will be the hiring of a city manager to replace William “Bill” Brock, who resigned after 20 years to accept a position with the engineering firm CT Consultants in Blue Ash.
McElfresh called the hiring “a critical moment in the future” of the city and depending on who is hired, they can “change the direction” of the city, either positively and negatively.
Hagedorn said he’d like the city to possible hire a city manager from a small, rural community.
Graves said the city has hired Management Advisory Group out of Westerville, Ohio, to conduct an executive search services to find the next city manager at a cost of $22,500.
The firm hopes to select a city manager in November and have them begin their duties by mid-December. The city manager is appointed by the seven-person City Council that will approve the expected three-year contract that will pay between $135,000 to $175,000 annually.
Graves called it “a truly important hire.”
Smith said the idea candidate will have people skills and previous city leadership experience.
Smith-Bowling agreed, saying “experience is the key.”
Funk said he’d like to see someone who can motivate the staff. He said the candidate will find that Monroe has “very capable” department heads.
In his opening statement, Funk, who has served on council for eight years, said he wants to continue that work with an “objective mind and open heart.”
Hagedorn, who has lived in the city for 20 years, said he wants to improve the city better.
“Keep it small,” he said.
McElfresh, who was appointed to council six years ago and won election four years ago, sounded like a cheerleader for the city.
“I love Monroe,” she said. “I understand the love and appeal of Monroe.”
Smith has lived in Monroe for 12 years and he plans to stay.
“It’s not like this everywhere else,” he said.
Smith-Bowling, a member of the Historic Preservation Commission, said she’d like to see future development in the downtown.
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