SEQUIM — Potential candidates have through today to apply for Sequim’s top administrator position.
Consultant Colin Baenziger and his firm extended the application period for the city manager search from July 2 to July 16, Sequim City Council member Keith Larkin said at Monday’s meeting.
As of Monday, Baenziger had received 35 applications and hoped for more than 40 by today, Larkin said.
“He’s telling me we have got some strong candidates, and he did want to pick up a couple of more,” Larkin said.
“When it’s down to the wire, some people drop out for various reasons, so he wanted to make sure we have a good group of candidates.”
Baenziger and his staff previously indicated they’ll vet as many as 12 candidates before providing eight to 10 resumes to the city council for review prior to an Aug. 26 meeting to rank the top three or four candidates.
Deputy Mayor Tom Ferrell and Council member Brandon Janisse said previously they would not be able to attend because of travel and work commitments; Ferrell asked again Monday to move the meeting with no success.
Finalists would travel to Sequim on Sept. 8-10 for interviews and panels, with expenses paid for by the city.
Larkin said in an interview that during the Aug. 26 meeting each council member will provide their top candidates and that Ferrell and Janisse’s picks will help with the rankings for choosing finalists.
Community panel
Council members agreed Monday to add a community panel whose members would interview candidates. The panel includes a representative from the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce, North Olympic Peninsula Builders Association, Sequim School District, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and the Clallam County Economic Development Council.
The panel on Sept. 10 would be in addition to those featuring city councilors and city staff.
Several council members called the panel idea “excellent.”
Larkin said he anticipates having representatives for the panel identified by the next city council meeting July 26.
Recruitment for a new city manager went live June 4 with council’s approval. It follows a vote by a majority of city councilors to call for former city manager Charlie Bush’s resignation in January over “philosophical differences,” as stated in a city press release.
Bush was hired in 2015 and brought in by Baenziger’s firm.
For more information about the city’s job listing, visit cb-asso.com.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
