On Wednesday morning, the Emporia City Commission will draw another step closer to choosing a city manager. And during a joint meeting with county commissioners, they’ll re-visit sharing the cost of ambulance service and hear from the task force studying consolidation of city and county law enforcement services.
Consultant Chuck Anderson will visit with commissioners in a closed-door session to discuss the candidates. So far, 47 people have applied. Of those, Anderson has singled out 24 that either meet or exceed the basic qualifications for the job.
City commissioners received information on all 47 on Friday. Mayor Jim Kessler, who has worked closely with Anderson on the search, said that so far he likes what he sees.
“Of course, everyone always looks good on paper, but to me it’s very impressive,” Kessler said."It’s an interesting group.”
Of the top 24, Kessler said, seven are from Kansas. The others come from 11 different states: Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Out of the 47 total candidates, only two women applied, one of whom withdrew herself from consideration. The other was among the candidates that did not meet the basic qualifications, Kessler said.
That doesn’t necessarily knock her — or anyone — out of the running for good, however.
“We look at them all,” Kessler said. “If there’s someone in group three (the underqualified group) we feel should be considered, we can move them up.”
The goal is to have eight to 12 candidates chosen by the end of the meeting. Afterward, Anderson will interview those candidates, report back and ask the commission to choose four to six candidates for on-site interviews. Kessler said the on-site interviews could come before the end of January.
No candidate names have been released by the city. According to a Kansas Attorney General opinion, prospective city manager candidates can be treated as a “non-elected personnel” issue and discussed in private session. The city commission has said it will announce the names of the four to six finalists.
The city meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in the city conference room, 521 Market St. Commissioners will also:
• Set the bid time and date for hangar improvements at the Emporia Municipal Airport.
• Authorize industrial revenue bonds for the Norfolk Iron & Metal expansion project.
• Talk further about the Tax Increment Financing and Transportation Development District laws, which allow indirect incentives for commercial recruitment.
At noon, the Lyon County Commission will join city commissioners in the city conference room for a joint lunch meeting. The two boards will discuss:
• City-county ambulance service.
• A task force on the benefits of consolidating law enforcement.
• The city manager search.