Iowa City Manager Tom Markus candidate for Lawrence, Kan. job

IOWA CITY - After nearly five years as Iowa City's City Manager, Tom Markus is a candidate for an administrative job that could take him to Lawrence, Kan.

Markus said in a Friday email that he applied in mid-September for the City Manager position for Lawrence, a city of 93,000 people and a city budget of roughly $200 million. Iowa City has a population of about 73,000 people and a budget of about $150 million.

'I enjoyed the initial interview,” Markus said in the email. 'The next step in the process will be more interviews and an opportunity for the public and candidates to engage.”

That next step will likely take place next month, he added.

Markus started as Iowa City's City Manager Dec. 1, 2010. Before that he was city manager of Birmingham, Mich.

Markus noted that he applied for the job before the Nov. 4 city election, which saw the group informally known as the 'Core Four,” a group touted by many as being more progressive than the current council, sweeping the election and winning all four open seats on council.

'I applied well before the results of the election were known. The one constant in my world is change and my decisions for applying reflect my views of the opportunity that this position provides,” he said.

Markus said he sees many parallels between the challenges being faced in Lawrence and those in Iowa City, including the Kansas community's plans to create a comprehensive strategic plan and the city's proximity to the University of Kansas.

'Lawrence shares many of the same challenges facing Iowa City as well as many issues that are unique to Lawrence. I have visited Lawrence and find it to be a highly desirable community,” Markus said in a Wednesday letter to the Iowa City Council and city department heads. 'I am interested in Lawrence because of its ‘town and gown' environment and the challenges and opportunities I will face in a larger jurisdiction.”

If Markus were to take the job - the Lawrence City Council plans to host interviews with candidates in mid-December - the Iowa City Council would likely establish an interim city manager and then determine the best course of action, said City Clerk Marian Karr.

Before Markus was hired in 2010, Dale Helling served as interim city manager from April 2009 through Nov. 2010. Before that, Michael Lombardo served as city manager from the spring of 2008 through April 2009 before the council voted to fire him.