Mayor hopes to have permanent city manager by early summer
CITY OF YAKIMA NEWS RELEASE -- The executive search firm overseeing the process to hire the next Yakima city manager posted an advertisement for the position on its website this week.
Colin Baenziger & Associates conducted a search last spring and early summer that led to the hiring of Don Cooper as Yakima’s city manager. Cooper resigned from the position in late December.
A provision in the contract the City signed with Baenziger last year provided that if the candidate selected for city manager left the position within 12 months of being hired, the firm would conduct another search at no charge. Last month, the City Council opted to take advantage of the contract provision.
As noted in the advertisement posted on Baenziger’s website, applications for the Yakima city manager position will be accepted through early March. The search firm will then spend about a month reviewing the applications, conducting an initial screening process, and compiling a pool of finalists.
Finalist interviews are scheduled to take place in Yakima on April 19th and 20th. Baenziger plans to use a process similar to the one followed last year in which finalists will be interviewed by the City Council during an open public session and by two additional panels. A panel of community members and a panel of City department directors will each conduct individual interviews with the finalists. Other interview elements may also be incorporated in the process.
Following the finalist interviews, the City Council will determine its top candidate. Then, final background checks will be conducted and contract negotiations will begin.
“The best case scenario is that we will have a new permanent city manager in place by late spring or early summer,” said Mayor Micah Cawley.
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