Been There, Done That, Let’s Do It Again

Below are comments from Nevada Mayor Jayne Novak about Neosho’s new City Manager Harlan Moore.  These comments are from today’s Neosho Daily News.

Neosho, Mo. —

Harlan Moore comes with a strong recommendation from Nevada Mayor Jayne Novak.

“You are an extremely lucky city,” Novak said.

She credits Moore with helping salvage a city that was in financial duress and, during his second stint, patching together personnel issues left by the former manager.

Moore is the two-time interim manager for the city with a population of under 9,000. During his time there, he oversaw a $13 million sewer project, a $3 million community center renovation, projects at the airport and city street improvements.

“He’s a very aggressive city manager,” Novak said. “He gets things done and the employees in Nevada have a lot of respect for him and, it’s my understanding, enjoyed working for him. As a council member he was wonderful to work with. He kept the council very well informed. I was very sorry to see him go. He was there as an interim. I understand that, but I would have kept him there forever if I could have.

“I feel like you’re in good hands.”

Nevada found itself in a financial crisis in the spring of 2006 facing a $1 million shortfall. The city manager left his position and Moore was hired as interim manager. The council directed him to cut costs and a couple months later the city went through a massive restructuring, elminating some city jobs by combining responsibilities and some departments. A year later, in 2007, the city hired a man they thought would be a permanent city manager, but by November 2008, they were looking for an interim manager again. Moore applied for the job.

At the time Novak was not a fan. She was not on the council during Moore’s previous tenure, but had heard about the cuts and before he interviewed she said she would never hire him.

“When he came in to interview he told us what the process was there and why it was handled like it was,” Novak said.

The council voted to bring him back and Novak believes Moore may have saved her town.

“It would have been a huge mistake not to,” she said. “He’s just really good at what he does.”

This March, the city hired a permanent city manager and Novak thinks the Neosho position will be good for Moore and bring him closer to his home in Grove, Okla.

Moore will return to Nevada tonight for the grand opening celebration of the Franklin P. Norman City/County Community Center, a project he helped supervise.