Amador County – The Ione City Council this week will interview three finalists for its City Manager position, after initially getting 105 applications.

Interim City Manager Jeff Butzlaff officially ends his term at the end of June. He said the Search Committee whittled 105 initial applicants to 10, and the City Council conducted teleconference interviews to select three finalists.

Butzlaff said it was amazing screening was faster than he expected. The initial stack was well over 100 applicants and appeared to be a daunting task. The stack was narrowed to potential candidates, then further refined to 10 semifinalists. With phone interviews, the Council narrowed the list to the three finalists.

He said 10 semifinalists were from all over the world, though “one was kind of local.” He said “all three of finalists as it turns out are all from California.”

One potential finalist was from Oregon, but notified the city he was selected as a county administrative officer in Oregon, and withdrew. It was just a matter of the applicant getting their offer first.

Butzlaff said: “I think we’ve got three good candidates. They have passed muster and been through a pretty rigorous review.

The Council, city employees and community members on Tuesday will use a three-point process to interview the finalists. Butzlaff said it is a process he has used successfully throughout his career.

The initial interview will be with candidates and all city employees who are available. It is an opportunity for them to get acquainted with each other, know each other and learn about the applicant’s experiences and education. It assures that they do not have to introduce a new city manager to employees that don’t know them.

Applicants will also meet with the community panel of five community members. Then applicants individually will interview with the community panel, a cross section of community representatives.

From there the applicant interviews with the City Council. All are closed meetings, as was the screening committee. He said it was done with community participation, but the hiring process still is inherently confidential. The Selection Committee met three times and it took a while to screen. Butzlaff said the community participation on the search panel, and in the interview, gives the public more ownership of the outcome.

Butzlaff said they are looking for the candidate that is best for the city. It is a two-way street and they have “got to make sure all of the dots connect.”

He said they could be pretty close to having somebody on board by end of July. Butzlaff can’t officially continue as Interim city manager beyond June 30, because it would affect his retirement status.

June 19 is a regular meeting of council but after the interviews, where they go from here really depends on council.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.