Jill Duson, Cheryl Leeman & Colin Baenziger at Noontime Meeting
Attendees at a Search Committee Meeting Today
By Carol McCracken (Post # 738)
“There are 17 who have applied for the position of city manager for Portland as of today,” said Councilor Cheryl Leeman at last night’s meeting of the Search Committee & Colin Baenziger Associates, a national recruiting company hired to assist in the process of hiring a city manager. Applications for the position must be received by April 1st.
Colin Baenziger explained the process that will be used to hire Portland’s next City Manager. Baenziger will select from 10 to 15 candidates and determine whether they are good managers and be a good fit for Portland. (These names will remain confidential and not released to the public at this time.) The Search Committee, chaired by Cheryl Leeman and composed of Jill Duson and John Anton, will narrow the candidates down to 3-5 names. (The names of the finalists will be made public at this time.) At this time, a public reception will be held for the candidates. Leeman responded this will give everyone a “good opportunity to see how they function in a crowd.” The City Council will make its decision at the end of May and the candidate will be offered the job around June 1st. It’s anticipated that the new city manager will be on the job in August. The salary range is from $120,000 to $170,000.
At a noontime meeting held at the Marriott Residence Inn, Fore Street, members of the business community were also given an opportunity to provide the Search Committee and Colin Baenziger with feedback on their “ideal” city manager. Suggestions included someone experienced in working with the business community, energized by the creative community and ability to work with diverse communities. The most often mentioned qualification, however, was the necessity of a candidate with good managerial skills.
**In an aside, Councilor Cheryl Leeman told MHN.com that she is considering running for Mayor of Portland in November. She has served on the Council for over 20 years and has served as mayor on two previous occasions. Stay tuned to MHN.com for additional developments on this news story!
Baenziger said that the average tenure for city managers is 5 – 6 years. The tenure for good city managers is about 8 years. Former city manager, Joe Gray, retired earliler this year after 10 years as city manager.
If you want to apply, please e-mail your resume to RecruitSix@cb-asso.com by April 1st. Questions should be directed to Colin Baenziger at (561) 707-3537.