In January, Arcus will provide the City Council with the complete list of external applicants for the city manager post. A confidentiality agreement with Arcus covers the master list of applicants (for protection in their current employment), but according to Mayor Will Wynn, whose office is directing the search, “Once we choose the semifinalists … we are in ownership of that information, and fundamentally it becomes public.” In contrast to the police chief search, no public hearings or meetings with the candidates are scheduled, prior to the announcement of the council’s selection, although the names of the semifinalists and finalists will become public once they’re selected.
Jan. 3 or 4: Specially Called Executive Session: Identify semifinalists among external candidates
“Arcus meets with City Council to verbally review all internal and external candidates and to narrow the list of external candidates to a manageable number of the most superior candidates (perhaps as few as three) for the first round of face-to-face interviews.”
Jan. 8 and 9: Specially Called Executive Session: Interview all semifinalists
“First round of face-to-face interviews with the three internal, and selected external, semifinalist candidates. City Council will then narrow the list to two finalists.”
Jan. 16: Specially Called Executive Session: Interviews with two finalists
“Final one-on-one interviews with, and presentations by, the two finalists.”
Jan. 17: Regularly Scheduled City Council Meeting
“City Council names the next city manager.”
This article appears in December 21 • 2007.