Belmont's new city manager is ready to listen

"We were looking for someone that would really meet the needs of the city and city council," Warden said, "He's got the right mix of diplomacy, intelligence and experience."

Warden added that Kersnar's seven years as Carmel's city manager helped him make the final cut, and stated that although Carmel and Belmont are different in size and scope, he said they're both community-oriented towns with an outspoken populous concerned with development, growth and parks and recreation issues.

Warden also said that Kersnar might be in for a surprise when he attends his first city council meeting - which was last night - and finds the usual 50 or 60people in attendance.

Kersnar is stepping into office with a full plate. There are currently 20 openings amongst the 125 full time positions - that's 16% of the city's full time work force.

Since Kersnar is one of Belmont's newest residents, he did not say exactly why there is such a high number of job vacancies, but he did tell the Daily Journal that many job openings can be attributed to the high cost of living and the accelerated use of technology in city jobs. Kersnar said skilled people are needed to complete the work objectives.

Kersnar likened the city manager position to that of a company CEO, with the city council as the board of directors who set the priorities to be followed. "My job is to translate policies into day-to-day policy, inform the city council about the policy and translate information into trend analysis."

"The public," Kersnar added, "are the share holders of the corporation. They elect the board of directors. It's ultimately their corporation - their interests determine the success of the corporation. It's the challenge of the job and one of the things that attracted me."

Kersnar says that as he acclimates himself to the job, he will be doing a lot of listening as he tries to determine how the city views itself so he can work with that vision, as well as pinpoint where the community sees ways of improving and making Belmont a better place. He plans on accomplishing this by meeting with individual city council members , department heads, community members, and key people involved in community issues.

"It's not wise to come in with preconceived notions ," Kersnar said. "It's better for me to understand dreams, goals, hopes and get a sense of the lay of the land before opening my mouth too much."

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