CAPE COUNCIL WILL PICK CITY MANAGER FROM FIVE FINALISTS

The five finalists for Cape Girardeau city manager come from Missouri, Tennessee, Kansas and Oregon.

They range in ages from 41 to 58.

Two are from the St. Louis suburbs of Creve Coeur and Ferguson.

Four of the five currently are city managers or administrators in towns similar in size to Cape Girardeau or smaller. One is a former city manager who currently is a management consultant.

The finalists: Jim Allan, city manager of North Bend, Ore.; Jeffrey Broughton, city manager of Oak Ridge, Tenn.; T. Michael McDowell, city administrator of Creve Coeur; Michael Miller, a consultant from Ferguson; and Larry Stevens, city manager of Pittsburg, Kan.

Mayor Al Spradling III announced the finalists Friday afternoon.

Spradling said all the finalists are experienced in city management.

The finalists will visit Cape Girardeau over the next several weeks. They will meet individually with the council and the news media.

Allan will visit Cape Girardeau next Friday; Miller on Aug. 2, McDowell on Aug. 8, Stevens on Aug. 14 and Broughton on Aug. 17.

Spradling said the council hopes to make a final decision by late August.

The new manager will replace J. Ronald Fischer. Fischer's last day is July 27.

Here is a capsule look at the finalists.

Stevens, 42, believes in a team work approach to city management. "The greatest resource people have in local government are the people who work for it."

He said a city manager needs "people skills."

Stevens worked as assistant to Doug Leslie, Cape Girardeau public works director, when Leslie was city manager of Nevada, Mo.

He said he is attracted to the job in Cape Girardeau partly because it has a state university as does his current city of Pittsburg.

Stevens has held city management positions, mostly in Missouri, since 1978.

A Pittsburg reporter said Stevens is a professional. "He works well with the media. He is ambitious."

The reporter added, "He is not one of those personalities that you either love or you hate."

At 58, Miller is the oldest of the finalists.

Miller has been in city management since 1960, and served as city manager for a number of cities including St. Joseph, Mo., and Council Bluffs, Iowa.

He currently is a management consultant.

Miller said he favors team management. "I wouldn't call it hands on, but I would call it keeping in touch."

Miller resigned as Ferguson's city manager in 1993 under pressure from the city council.

Councilman Bill Pike said the council felt a change was needed in management style.

"I personally felt we needed more of a hands-on manager at that point," Pike said.

Allan, 50, North Bend's city manager, said Cape Girardeau's reputation of a professional city management staff is one reason he is interested in the job.

He also has relatives who live in Cape Girardeau.

"I am always looking for new ways of doing things and that comes from the staff," said Allan, who describes himself as having an "open door" policy.

"I believe in management by walking around," he said.

Allan hasn't made any controversial decisions as city manager of North Bend, one editor with the local newspaper said.

He helped negotiate an agreement that brought in a casino run by an Indian tribe. The casino opened in May despite opposition from several church groups.

Broughton, 41, refused to describe his management style when reached at home Friday. "I think it would be best for me to reserve any comments until after I have visited with the City Council."

Ron Bridgeman, the editor of the Oak Ridge, Tenn., newspaper, said Broughton is unpopular with the majority of that town's council.

Three new members were elected June 6 to the council, tilting the balance of power against Broughton.

Bridgeman said council members even have talked of firing Broughton.

"He has been rumored to have been in the job market for several months," the editor said.

Bridgeman said Broughton is a strong manager and has hired quality personnel.

He said the city manager isn't a "glad hander" and doesn't believe in being "buddy, buddy" with employees.

Broughton has taken flack over a controversial city golf course and private, residential development. The city bypassed the bond issue route and issued capital outlay notes to avoid seeking voter approval.

A group of citizens failed in a legal effort to block the development. "It was a miserable PR move," Bridgeman said of the project.

McDowell, 43, couldn't be reached for comment.

A St. Louis reporter said McDowell doesn't get along well with the press.

"I have been at city council meetings where residents have yelled at him. He is very stand-offish," the reporter said.

But she also described McDowell as fiscally responsible and an efficient manager.

The city of Creve Coeur, with a population of 12,500, has a $10 million reserve fund.

Finalists for Cape Girardeau city manager

Jeffrey J. Broughton

Age: 41

City manager of Oak Ridge, Tenn., pop. 27,310, since October 1986.

Manages 380 employees and $52 million budget

Lawrence John Stevens

Age: 42

City manager of Pittsburg, Kan., pop. 17,780, since February 1991.

Manages $18 million budget and 175 employees.

T. Michael McDowell

Age: 43

City administrator of Creve Coeur, Mo., pop. 12,500, since December 1988.

Creve Coeur is a home rule, charter city in St. Louis County.

Michael G. Miller

Age: 58

Lives in Ferguson. Management consultant since November 1993.

City manager of Ferguson, pop. 22,280, from April 1989 to November 1993.

Managed an $8.3 million budget and 126 employees.

Jim C. Allan

Age: 50

City manager of Norh Bend, Ore., along the Pacific Coast, area pop. 65,000, since April 1991.

Manages budget of $11.5 million and 104 employees.