City Councilors are expected to narrow down the list of potential City Manager hires by mid-March with a virtual interview and public reception via the Internet coming soon afterwards.
Councilors interviewed six candidates for the City Manager’s job during a special Saturday Zoom session on Feb. 20 and then followed that up with a closed-door executive session Feb. 22. Mayor Benjamin Huseman said he’s confident the city will find a good manager among that group.
“I think the most important thing is that we have somebody who can efficiently lead our organization to make Commerce City the best it can be,” Huseman said.
Brian McBroom, who had been in the City Manager’s position for more than eight years, resigned July 2020. The resignation agreement said, “McBroom desires to resign as city manager to seek new challenges and opportunities without the request of the city council that he do so.”
Councilors named Roger Tinklenberg as the interim manager during the search. He previously served as Deputy City Manager.
City representative Jodi Hardee said City Councilors are scheduled to interview this six candidates by mid-March, narrowing the list down to as many as four semi-finalists for the City Manger’s job. A public conference with each of the remaining semi-finalists will come after that. The city wants to give the finalists a chance to notify their current employers that they are considering the Commerce City job before making their names public.
“It will be more of public introduction,” Hardee said. “It will give the public a chance to get to know each of the semi-finalists and the potential new City Manager.”
Hardee said the date and format of the public meeting will depend on who makes the cut.
The ideal candidate
Huseman said councilors are looking for an outgoing, visible leader with a genuine interest in actively participating in the community.
“When we hired the search firm, there was candidates profile that was presented and we created basically a brochure that was sent out,” Huseman said. “It talked about the ideal candidate.”
According to the brochure, “The ideal candidate must exhibit strong coordination and relationship-building skills in working with the entire organization and set a positive example of competence, professionalism, energy, and work ethic to the organization and community.”
According to the City Council’s job description, they are seeking an experienced administrator.
“The ideal candidate should possess strong knowledge of public administration principles and a strong ability to lead the City in terms of planning, prioritizing, organizing, scheduling, delegating and the budgeting process,” the brochure reads. “A record of accomplishment and success in economic development recruitment and retention efforts will be essential for this role.”