By Sharon Ragoonan, Assistant City Manager, Hallandale Beach/MIT Advocate/District V Director/Membership Committee Liaison
The new fiscal year has begun and offers a myriad of opportunities for municipal and county managers to become a lifesaver by hiring a Manager-In-Transition (MIT). Whether the MIT can backfill an interim full-time or part-time position, work as an independent contractor on policy development and implementation, consult on a community visioning effort, perform contract and ARPA compliance audits, or conduct research on strategic plan initiatives to name a few, there is no shortage of suitable projects for an MIT to administer while staying engaged and relevant. Quite frankly, the MIT would maintain a stronger connection to and yield greater value from our professional network until a permanent job placement materializes.
A seasoned MIT is equipped with operations and management experience to readily assist a chief administrative officer (CAO) in meeting organizational goals and objectives, particularly when critical projects require prompt execution at the onset of the budget year. Furthermore, in era of a pandemic, the MIT and CAO mutually benefit from work that can be done remotely. The MIT can concentrate on the assignment at home while actively seeking employment and the CAO provides much needed relief to internal staff to focus on achieving other key objectives without increasing the density in the workplace. Most importantly, the community sees enhanced services delivered sooner and enjoys new programs earlier than forecasted. It is a win-win-win scenario.
Join your FCCMA Executive Board and Membership Committee members in supporting ongoing efforts to make the transition phase of an MIT as short and fulfilling as possible. Here are a few steps you can take:
- Compile a list of projects and post them as temporary assignments on FCCMA’s job board. FCCMA staff can guide you on how to upload the information on the job board;
- Initiate the introduction between an MIT and a CAO in recruitment;
- Accept requests from the MIT to meet with you (virtually or telephonically) as they may need your insight or assistance in pursuing potential opportunities;
- Continue to reach out by phone to an MIT each month. These calls are invaluable. MIT contact information and resume can be found online at https://fccma.org/member-in-transition-profiles/; and
- Every budget season, encourage your department heads to identify projects that can be assigned to an MIT to help you meet your performance goals.
Our FCCMA family is a village that covers the State of Florida, and support for each other is a shared responsibility. Becoming a lifesaver is within your reach.
