Archived News Release: March 29, 2016 - The City of Ann Arbor is hosting a public reception for community members to meet the candidates who would like to become Ann Arbor's new city administrator. Former City Administrator Steve Powers left the city in November 2015. The event will take place 5:30–7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, 2016, in the first floor lobby of the Ann Arbor Justice Center, 301 E. Huron St. (adjacent to Larcom City Hall).
Information on the candidates follows:
Thomas Couch is currently the county manager for Bulloch County, Georgia, since 2004. He previously served as assistant to the county manager for special projects in Henry County, Georgia; county administrator for Coffee County, Georgia; and city manager for Glennville, Georgia. Couch earned a master's of public administration degree from Georgia State University and an undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University.
Paul Fetherston is currently the assistant city manager for the City of Asheville, North Carolina, since 2014. He has also served as deputy city manager for Boulder, Colorado, chief administrative officer for the Town of Canton, Connecticut, and town manager for Town of Newington, Connecticut. Fetherston earned a juris doctor degree from Western New England University School of Law and an undergraduate degree from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
Howard Lazarus is currently the director of public works for the City of Austin, Texas, since 2008. He has also served as acting/interim assistant city manager for Austin for 10 months, in 2010, and was the director of engineering for the City of Newark, New Jersey. Lazarus earned a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and an undergraduate degree from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York.
Christian Sigman is currently the county administrator for Hamilton County, Ohio, since 2006. Previously, Sigman served as the assistant county administrator, and was also the budget director for the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, and director of strategic budgeting for the District of Columbia government. Sigman earned a master's of public administration degree from Indiana University, where he also obtained an undergraduate degree.
Interviews with the candidates with staff will take place on April 15. On Saturday, April 16, the candidates will participate in public interviews with City Council at Larcom City Hall, Council chambers, second floor. *Candidates will be individually interviewed by Council 9-11:45 a.m., approximately, and will resume after a lunch break, 12:45-3:30 p.m., approximately. Seventy-five minutes is allotted for each interview. Those wishing to attend and observe are asked to arrive on time as a courtesy to avoid interruptions in the interview process. Interviews will also be streamed live on CTN Channel 16, https://a2ctn.viebit.com/.*
Last October, the city held a public forum to develop a candidate profile identifying ideal qualities for a new city administrator. This meeting was moderated by the recruitment firm Affion Public Inc.
City of Ann Arbor Chief Financial Officer Tom Crawford has been acting interim city administrator since November 2015. He will remain in this position until a permanent city administrator is appointed by City Council.
* An update to provide the interview schedule has been made since the original distribution of this press release.
# # # # #
