Iowa City council hopes to have new city manager by fall

The City Council hopes to hire a new city manager by the fall, and it will use a search firm to help identify candidates.

Council members at a work session tonight agreed tapping into a consultant's expertise was the best way to go.

It “really gives us an opportunity to get more and better candidates on our radar screen,” Susan Mims said.

The council will start looking for a firm later this month. Council members said they want to get moving on the search, with Mayor Matt Hayek saying he saw no reason why the next city manager couldn't be in place by the fall.

“That person would have a couple of months on his or her feet before the budget arrives,” he said.

The council is looking for a permanent replacement to Michael Lombardo, who was fired last April for undisclosed reasons after less than a year on the job. Longtime Assistant City Manager Dale Helling has been filling in since then.

Council member Mike Wright said a firm also could help if any candidates have concerns about Lombardo's short tenure.

“A search firm can help sell the city and indicate it's a pretty great place,” he said.

The last city manager search cost about $41,500, with $16,500 the base fee for the consultant, the PAR Group. Because Lombardo was fired after less than a year, PAR Group was to waive its fee for a subsequent search, but the company has since gone out of business.

The council tonight also decided on an outline for how interviews will be done. Department heads will meet with candidates, as was done last time, but three committees will provide an additional layer of questioning.

Two of the committees will be made up of the 16 chairs of the council's citizen commissions.

The other will consist of former Iowa City mayors Ernie Lehman, Naomi Novick, Bill Ambrisco, Darrel Courtney and John Balmer. Council members said that group could provide great insight, although some members said they wanted it made clear the committees did not have a say in who is hired.

“They should not be allowed to rank these people,” Connie Champion said. “They should only be allowed to give us comments.”

Council members also said they want public meet and greets for the candidates, as was done last time.