City Manager May Be Hired Tuesday NightMarch 19th, 2008
By Tammy Gray-Searles
Members of the Holbrook City Council interviewed the two final candidates for city manager on Saturday (March 15), but decided to wait until a special meeting on Tuesday to make a selection.
The council met at 8 a.m. on Saturday to review background information provided on the candidates by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. League officials are assisting the city in its search for a new man-ager, and were responsible for advertising the position, screening the applicants and conducting background checks on the council’s final choices.
League services also included guiding the council through the selection process, and helping council members identify the most important characteristics they desire in the new city manager.
Candidates Larry Stoever and Timothy Smith spent a good part of the day with council members, be-ginning with a public meet and greet at 9 a.m. A number of interested local residents attended to speak with the pair vying for the city manager position, and give their impressions to the council.
While the council received input from citizens, the candidates received a tour of city facilities from Public Works Director Don Fischer. Then the council members, Stoever, Smith and a few city staff members met for lunch at Hidden Cove Golf Course.
Following lunch, each candidate was formally interviewed by the council. While one was being inter-viewed by the council, the other met with a committee comprised of city staff members.
Once the interviews were complete, the staff committee and council met in executive session to discuss the candidates. Members of the staff committee related their impressions of the potential city managers and made a recommendation to the council. The council members may or may not take the recommendation into consideration when making a final choice, as the responsibility of selecting a new city manager rests entirely with the council.
The council also met in executive session without the staff committee present to consider whether to make an immediate decision. The council decided to wait a few days to allow time to deliberate and to receive additional public input.
A special meeting had already been called for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, to make a decision regarding the hiring of a city manager. The council was expected to meet in executive session to discuss the selection first, and then in public to formalize the decision. A full report on that meeting will be published in Friday’s edition of the Holbrook Tribune-News.
If the council members are not satisfied with either of the candidates, it is possible that they will not make a hiring decision and start the process over again. The league has already agreed to continue its assistance if the council desires to continue the manager search. Interim City Manager Fern Larson has also agreed to continue serving as manager until a new one is hired, although she is hopeful that a permanent manager will be found soon.
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