The City Council moved the city manager recruitment process forward at its Sept. 23 workshop, narrowing the applicant pool and giving Human Resources direction on next steps to prepare finalists for in‑person interviews. HR reported that 12 applicants applied, three withdrew, two did not respond, six submitted required video materials on time and one was late; council asked staff to drop the late submission from further consideration.

Renina Fuller, director of human resources, told the council that six candidates remain after the initial screening and recommended further vetting. Council directed HR to perform background checks and social‑media and court‑record searches and to request a two‑page white paper from each remaining candidate describing their priorities and first‑year plans for the city. The white papers were set to be due to staff on Oct. 8 to allow distribution to council on Oct. 9; council set a target window for in‑person workshops in early November (week of Nov. 10–14) and asked staff to coordinate logistics.

Council members discussed trimming the list further. One council member recommended a shorter list of four candidates but the majority preferred keeping the six timely submissions for the next round. Council also said it will conduct background and reference checks and that candidates who cannot meet simple procedural deadlines would be disfavored; HR had previously attempted to contact the late applicant without response.

The next steps agreed by the council were: HR will gather background and public‑records checks, request two‑page white papers describing each candidate’s first‑year priorities, provide the white papers and background checks to council in advance of the Oct. 14 workshop, and prepare for special workshops or interviews in early November so council can complete the finalist interviews and consider appointment.

The council did not make a hiring decision at the workshop and no appointment was scheduled; any selection will require a separate public meeting and formal action once finalists are interviewed.