After more than three hours in a closed session meeting, Charlottesville City Council announced that they have no announcement just yet on a new interim city manager. However, Mayor Lloyd Snook said that council anticipates a selection by next Tuesday.
“We have some further investigation yet to be done,” Snook said. “ We are not yet prepared to make a decision but expect to make a decision probably on Tuesday Jan. 18.”
Council had spent the morning and early afternoon interviewing three prospective candidates that had been suggested by the consulting firm Robert Bobb Group — which Council hired last month to provide “interim services.”
Officials have not said who the three candidates are.
Calling the candidates “impressive,” Snook said, “We feel confident that whoever we end up choosing will serve us well, we are just not ready to make the decision quite yet.”
According to the contract with the firm, Council must select an interim by Jan. 21 or Robert Bobb Group can terminate the agreement.
Things seem hopeful, however, for Councilor Sena Magill. She told Charlottesville Tomorrow previously that “we are not just getting an interim city manager, we are getting a support team as well.”
Beyond the interim services the temporary city manager will take on, the consulting firm said it can advise both that person and Council.
There’s been high turnover in city hall staff recently, including the city manager’s officer. Last year alone, Charlottesville cycled through two interim city managers.
Both those interims expressed interest in taking over as permanent city manager at the end of their interim periods. However, former interim city manager Chip Boyles resigned after less than a year and would-be-interim city manager, Marc Woolley, pulled out a day before he was set to start.
Council hopes this interim will be its last for a while, and hopes to hire a lasting city manager by summer.
“Having someone permanent by June would be my hope,” Snook said.
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