In Monday night’s meeting, the Carroll City Council formally accepted the applications of three candidates for the newly vacated City Manager position. The three moving forward in the process are former Woodbine City Administrator Joseph Gaa of Chariton, current City Manager of Excelsior Springs, Mo., David Haugland and County Administrator for Swift County, Minn., Michel Pogge-Weaver. Bill Moulder & Associates was the firm retained to assist with the hiring process and Moulder said he was pleased with the spectrum of assets and experience these three bring to the interview phase.
All have economic development experience, which was a priority for the council and they all also see this as a long-term position and not a stepping stone in their career. There were some conflicts that arose with the original date selected for the in-person interviews with the Carroll City Council, so Moulder worked with Carroll City Clerk and Finance Director, Laura Schaefer to select another option that would work for all parties.
Moulder has outlined the next phase, beginning with the candidates meeting city staff and receiving a tour followed by an hour-long public reception at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26. In-person interviews would take place the next day. Moulder also offered his opinion that there should be four interview panels, with the council being one, the city staff the second and a third that provides perspective.
The final panel is that of the citizens who attend the reception. These groups will not be making recommendations to the council, he said, they will only be giving feedback on positive or negative impressions during the interactions. Moulder said he would set a schedule for the interviews to begin on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 8 a.m. and to be concluded by 11 a.m. The council would then move into chambers and enter into a closed session for further discussion and deliberation on whether or not they wish to extend an offer or if they would like to go back to opening the position for applications. We will bring you more details on the public reception when a site is selected.
