AUBURN – Communication, leadership and team-building skills are the things citizens want in a new city manager, according to early poll results.

Mayor John Jenkins said he’ll continue to poll residents for at least two more weeks to determine what they want in their next city manager.

“We just sent home survey forms to parents through the schools, so we’ll keep taking responses for a while longer,” Jenkins said. “So far, we’ve dropped them off at restaurants and shops and any place people gather.”

City Manager Pat Finnigan announced her resignation in February, effective as of June. Jenkins said the city will likely name an interim city manager once Finnigan leaves. He hopes to have a permanent manager hired by November. All seven city councilors and Jenkins are up for election that month.

Councilors began polling residents earlier in April to find out what they expect from Finnigan’s replacement. The poll asks citizens to finish one sentence: “Our next City Manager should be a person who…” Responses can be dropped off at Auburn Hall, mailed to the city or sent via E-mail to [email protected].

He’s enlisted students and professors from Andover College to help tabulate the results.

“But some overall themes are emerging,” Jenkins said. Responses so far call for a manager who is a strong leader, a team player and a good communicator.

“These are the same things employees are saying we need more of,” he said.

Jenkins has also reached out to Lewiston’s City Council and to the newly formed Citizens Commission on Lewiston-Auburn Cooperation. He hopes they’ll advise Auburn about how to make a new manager work well with Lewiston.

Jenkins said he’s not ready for those discussions yet.

“That’s a second stage of discussions, and we’re not finished with the first stage,” he said. “First, we want to make sure we are asking the right questions for Auburn needs. We want to make sure we consider what’s best for Auburn first. Then we’ll be ready to talk about the next steps and what’s best for both cities.”