Council to review manager hopefuls
Published 6:54 pm Monday, March 25, 2019
Port Arthur city councilmembers were scheduled to deliberate the appointment of a new city manager during a closed session at 4 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
An agenda for the special meeting said the elected board would “deliberate the appointment,” rather than simply discuss the duties of the position, which how previous, recent agendas have described councilmember discussions about the position.
Four finalists were selected almost a month ago for the job, which is the highest ranking non-elected city position. Finalists are:
- Hani Tohme, a professional engineer and Port Arthur’s former director of public services.
- Natasha Henderson, a management consultant and former city manager in Flint, Michigan.
- David Strahl, former city administrator for the city of O’Fallon, Missouri.
- Henrietta Turner, city manager in Floresville, Texas.
The job pays in the $140,000 to $170,000 range.
Councilmembers discussed the finalists in a closed-door session last week, but made no decision.
Mayor Derrick Freeman said last week that councilmembers had concluded a “spirited debate about duties” of the job during last week’s meeting, and “what each of us thought.”
Tohme left his position as director of public services last week — he had served the city part time for more than a year — after questions were raised about a perceived conflict of interest. Tohme owns his own engineering firm. However, he said he would remain a candidate for the city manager position.
Tohme’s duties as director of utility operations, which involved oversight of water services and trash pickup, were advertised last week. Applicants for that job had until 5 p.m. Monday to apply in order to be among candidates considered in the city’s first review.