City Administrator search narrowed to six applicants

And then there were six. Currently that?s how many applicants are left with any hope of occupying the recently vacated city administrator position. That number is promising to decrease even more before the matter gets handed over to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for a final decision, say city officials.

Sticking to their three-stage plan in an effort to find the perfect person for the position, Mayor Royce Davenport and Alderman Bobby Kirby first reviewed the 26 applications that had been received. During that stage of the process, the number was reduced to 12.

?We removed everyone that we agreed weren?t qualified,? said Davenport. ?If we were undecided as to whether they should be removed, we left them in.?

The final 12 continued to stage two of the process which is Finance Committee consideration. Sitting on that committee is Vice Mayor Patti Nunley, Michael Chrisawn and Donald Hillis.

As discussion began, members agreed on the desire to not only hire the best qualified for the job, but also hire a city administrator who fits well within the community and city government.

Finding a person that fits in well among these applicants could be quite difficult, according to Nunley.

?I?m leery of most of these people and I?ll tell you why,? Nunley said. ?Too many of them were bragging about out-sourcing city services, restructuring all the committees, eliminating department head jobs and completely reorganized everything. One guy even used the words firm and aggressive over and over. These things concern me.?

Following the lead of Davenport and Kirby, if the committee unanimously agreed a person was not suitable for the position, the applicant was removed. If the decision was not unanimous, the person was left in during this round of discussion.

After discussing the 12 applicants one by one and eliminating as they went, the committee then added up the remaining applications to discover there were six remaining. The committee agreed to adjourn and give each member a chance to look over the remaining six applicants in hopes of reducing that number down even further.

Cutting the number to three or four will also cut the expense the city will incur during the formal interview process which could include a psychological screening process. Until the final selection is made by the Finance Committee, the names of the applicants are being withheld.