Iowa City hopes to have manager selected by fall

While Cedar Rapids last week selected a new city manager after a two-month search, Iowa City is going on more than a year without a permanent manager.

The Iowa City Council fired Michael Lombardo in April 2009. It then decided to wait until after that fall's council election to start the search for a replacement. Then it turned its attention to the city's budget for the first several weeks of this year.

Council members also said they were completely comfortable with longtime Assistant City Manager Dale Helling filling in.

The council hopes to have a new city manager in place in the fall. Last week, it approved the recruitment profile, which is basically the job description.

There have been other differences in how the two cities have gone about the search.

Iowa City is using a search firm, Georgia-based Slavin Management Consultants, to identify candidates. Cedar Rapids did not hire a consultant.

Cedar Rapids also did not bring in any finalists for public meet-and-greets, whereas Iowa City did that in its last search and the council has given no indication it will change things up this time.