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| Greg Copeland has been named the Maplewood City Manager. photo Linda Baumeister / Review
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Copeland hired as permanent Maplewood manager 'in the dark of night'
Katy Zillmer
staff writer
Only one resident and a television news crew were left in the Maplewood City Council chambers at 2 a.m. Nov. 13 when a 3-1 council majority removed the "interim" from Greg Copeland's title of city manager and hired him to fill the top City Hall job on a permanent basis.
Copeland had been the interim city manager since April 10, the same day the council voted 3-2 to fire previous City Manager Richard Fursman.
Last week's marathon council meeting was capped with a motion by Council Member Erik Hjelle to hire Copeland as Fursman's permanent replacement. It came during council deliberations over which of five professional search firms - compiled by Copeland's assistant - should be hired to coordinate the city manager recruitment process.
Among the rejected firms was Personnel Decisions International, which had been used by the previous council to hire Fursman.
Mayor Diana Longrie voted for Hjelle's motion, as did Council Member Rebecca Cave. Council Member Kathy Juenemann dissented and Will Rossbach was absent.
John Nephew told the Review that he was the lone resident still at the meeting when the early morning decision was made. He said Hjelle read a written statement prior to making the motion to hire Copeland as the permanent city manager. Nephew asserted, "In making the motion, Erik Hjelle chickened out on that (professional search) process and took the easy way out. He must have planned to make that motion ahead of time," Nephew said.
Hjelle did not return a phone call for comments prior to press time.
In an interview, Longrie said, "It was kind of a surprise but it did happen. Mr. Hjelle made some really good points, and he persuaded me.
"Over the last few months, I have had a lot of citizens tell me that in their interactions with Copeland (they feel) welcomed to City Hall." She added, "As mayor, that speaks volumes to me."
While Nephew said he doesn't disagree with the decision to hire Copeland, he was surprised by the council's choice not to follow its own search-firm selection process.
"If that process had (built) a lot of community support for Copeland that would have been better for the community," Nephew said.
He felt Copeland would have been a "stronger and more effective" leader if he hadn't been approved "in the dark of night."
Straying from the process
In the months since Copeland's first appointment in April, the City Council has had periodic discussions about how to proceed with hiring a permanent manager and had set Dec. 11 as the date to have accomplished the goal.
Those discussions were prompted by Council Members Rossbach and Juenemann after it was discovered that the city hadn't completed the required background check on Copeland prior to his hiring as the interim manager.
It was former Human Resources Director Sherrie Le who initially pushed for the background check to be completed. She was fired by Copeland in August
By city ordinance, future employees with financial oversight and confidential information responsibilities are required to go through a background and criminal history investigation.
When the process was complete for Copeland, the City Council held a special meeting in July, focusing on his education, political and work experience relative to the city manager job description
Copeland was a self-employed insurance agent in Spring Hill, Fla., until 1992. Since then he has lived with his wife Betty in St. Paul. Before they left Florida, Copeland's wife was permanently disabled in a car accident and he has served as her primary caregiver the past 14 years. In Minnesota, Copeland has been involved in non-profit work and served on the St. Paul Charter Commission since 1996, now in his third term.
Copeland earned his bachelor's degree in political science from St. Leo University in Florida in 1976. He completed half of the required courses for a master's degree in public administration at Hamline University, which he first started in the fall of 1992.
Despite the concerns of some council members regarding Copeland's limited experience in city administration, a 3-2 vote in July kept him on as interim manager. At that time, the council also started the permanent search process and reviewed the job description for the position.
Hjelle's final motion during the Nov. 13 meeting was to hire Copeland on a probationary basis for one year with an $85,000 annual salary. According to a letter Hjelle wrote and had posted on the Maplewood city Web site, Copeland is scheduled to have performance reviews in May and October 2007.
"I realize that many people will never support my decision to offer Greg Copeland a one-year probationary position as Maplewood City Manager. I was not elected to win a popularity contest or to watch myself on TV twice on month. Change is hard and change raises anxiety. I simply could not continue allowing uncertainty to stop the business of Maplewood," Hjelle said in the letter.
Mayor Longrie also stressed that Copeland is an at-will employee and can be removed by the City Council just as he was hired.
"If he messes up next month, well I guess we have to decide what to do. But it wouldn't be different with any other city manager," she said.
'Not usual ... but not wrong'
According to the League of Minnesota Cities, the city council/city manager form of government means that individual is directly responsible to the council members and subject to their removal after a public hearing.
Tom Grundhoefer, the lead counsel for the league, said while the permanent hiring of Greg Copeland was not specifically on the City Council's meeting agenda Nov. 13, the members did not break any rules by making the unexpected decision in that format or at that time.
"In the hiring world there are not a ton of rules. You would probably describe (the council's late-night decision) as not usual, but again not wrong," Grundhoefer said.
The news of Copeland's appointment traveled fast, including to his predecessor Richard Fursman.
"I was just disappointed that no process took place. I don't know that much about Mr. Copeland so I can't make a judgment to whether he would be a good candidate or not," he said.
Fursman said he was hired after an interview process with a public panel, representatives from city commissions, an employee panel and the City Council, in addition to psychological intelligence testing.
While he said the impact on the City Council in working with staff and residents is yet to be seen, Fursman contended that Copeland could face some problems having not gone through a typical hiring process with other candidates.
"I can't imagine why (the City Council) would do it that way. It throws so many flags out on the field.
"Without any process it's a detriment for the city manager to try and have the credibility that he is going to need with the community to be effective," Fursman said.
Working for support
Now that his temporary job has become permanent, Copeland is upbeat and shrugs off criticism of the hiring process. He plans to continue projects he has worked on thus far, including the city's 2007 budget, the Gladstone redevelopment and maintenance and operations at the Maplewood Community Center.
"I'm pleased and excited to have the opportunity to build on the successes that we have already had," Copeland said.
When asked by the Review about any opposition to the decision, mainly from Council Member Juenemann, Copeland said he made a point to talk with her after the vote.
"She had made a variety of points that weren't related to (my experience.) I appreciate that conversation to the extent that I have to work a little harder to earn some support from the council as a whole. Obviously, everybody wants to see five (favorable) votes. We all know that is preferred, but not required. That is not going to interfere with my performance," he said.
Juenemann did not return a call for comments as of press time.
"They've had a chance to evaluate what I have been able to accomplish in the short time I have been here. If they hadn't been satisfied they would have moved ahead to do something else," Copeland said.
Katy Zillmer can be reached at kzillmer@lillienews.com or at 651-748-7822.
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