Claremont City Council Meeting - June 9, 2026

The Claremont City Council convened on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, to discuss the strategy for hiring a new city manager, given that current City Manager Ms. Bates has not yet provided a final departure date. The meeting included extensive debate on the hiring process, the council's relationship with past city managers, and potential restructuring of top administrative roles. A motion was passed to authorize the mayor to gather information from search firms, and the council later voted to enter a non-public session for personnel matters.

Discussion Items

• City Manager Hiring Strategy – Mayor Gerard presented options for the hiring process: using the HR director to market the position, using a search firm (as done previously for Mr. Manale), or a committee review. He cited two firms used by Hanover and Haverill, New Hampshire, and one working with Hartford and Rockingham.
• Councilor Kalaski suggested first using the in-house HR tool (Indeed) for 90 days with a small five-person committee (two councilors, three public members) to whittle candidates before bringing them to the full council. He noted the last city manager search via a firm yielded few qualified applicants and that a committee approach had previously resulted in a short stack of three candidates.
• Councilor Greenrose advocated for a professional search firm to ensure a wider, vetted pool, but also questioned whether a debriefing had been done after the last hire to learn from why that manager did not work out.
• Councilor Cogswell argued the council's adversarial relationship with city managers is a systemic problem, not solely about the manager. He stated the council often oversteps its role as a board of directors and sets managers up to fail. He supported using a search firm but also emphasized the need for the council to define clear expectations and boundaries for the next manager.
• Councilor Irish strongly criticized the council's behavior, saying six city managers in ten years is not a coincidence; the council micromanages and violates the charter. He opposed using a search firm, preferring to use the city's own LinkedIn/Indeed tools, and advocated for the full nine councilors to be involved from start to finish to ensure accountability. He suggested restructuring the city manager and finance director positions into a city manager/assistant city manager model to attract better candidates and address the long-vacant finance director role.
• Councilor Kalaski countered that a nine-member committee could lead to extended delays and that previous large committees produced poor results. He stressed the finance director vacancy is critical and that restructuring may require legal review regarding the charter.
• Councilor O'Hearn supported using the in-house HR tool and a committee, noting past experiences where a large committee recommended a candidate but the full council hired someone else.
• Councilor Hemingway asked for proof of Councilor Irish's accusation that some councilors meet privately to coordinate votes. Councilor Irish maintained that such behavior has occurred.
• Assistant Mayor Mattow highlighted that the next city manager will likely have to also handle finance duties temporarily, as the finance director position remains unfilled. He suggested exploring restructuring before advertising.
• Councilor Cogswell and Greenrose both supported gathering information on search firms and exploring whether restructuring could expedite the hiring process.

Key Outcomes

• Motion to Authorize Mayor – Councilor O'Hearn moved, seconded by Councilor Greenrose, to authorize the mayor to seek out and obtain information (including quotes and references) from search firms and other relevant sources. The motion passed unanimously (9-0).
• Motion to Enter Non-Public Session – A motion was made and seconded to enter a non-public session under RSA 91A:3-2-a (personnel). The vote was 8-1 (Councilor Kalaski voted no). The session would address personnel matters.
• Next Steps – The mayor will contact the identified firms. The council will also consider receiving a presentation from HR director Ms. Thibodeau on the in-house recruitment tool. A copy of the previous recruiting form will be circulated to help define desired qualifications for the next city manager.