AUBURN — Councilors will go behind closed doors tonight to begin sorting through the 40 applications they received to be Auburn’s next city manager.
Mayor Jonathan LaBonte said he was pleased with the response the city got to its advertisements.
“We’ve had a very good response, and a very good state, regional and national response,” LaBonte said. “We have a very good group to work through.”
LaBonte said the council’s goal is to finish Monday’s meeting with a list of six top candidates, who will be contacted for interviews with city councilors.
“Everything will stay in an executive session until we get to the finalist round,” LaBonte said. “At that point, there will be a public component, bringing people in for the final interviews. But the goal Monday is to come out with a short list of people for first interviews.”
The closed-door executive session is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber on the top floor of Auburn Hall.
Councilors are seeking a replacement for Howard Kroll, who wrapped up the Auburn job on Sept. 9. He has been hired as manager of the town of Hermon.
Councilors promoted Kroll to temporarily replace outgoing Manager Clinton Deschene in November 2014, making Kroll the permanent city manager in August 2015. Kroll served as assistant city manager up to that point.
Councilors selected his predecessor Deschene in May 2012 after a seven-month national search. Deschene had been town manager of Hermon.
The council contracted with the Maine Municipal Association and that group’s Human Resources director, Dave Barrett, in August to lead the search for Kroll’s successor, advertising in local, regional and national publications.
“Ultimately, it’s up to the council as they work through the list,” LaBonte said.
LaBonte said he hopes the next manager is well-versed in public engagement.
“That’s a big part of reading through these resumes and cover letters, seeing how much the person understands where we are as a community and what we need for leadership at this time,” LaBonte said.
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