9 candidates looked at for Polson city manager

The firm tasked with finding a new city manager for Polson has presented the City Manager Search Committee with a handful of candidates to consider.

James Mercer with Santa Fe, New Mexico-based The Mercer Group is leading the recruitment process. He met with the search committee via conference call on March 18 to review potential candidates for the job. Polson Police Chief Wade Nash has been leading the city as interim city manager since former city manager Mark Shrives stepped down in October 2018.

Mercer said he received 41 applications for the job opening, “which is a reasonable number in today’s world.” He then narrowed that list down to nine candidates.

Six of those candidates were discussed with the committee in an open session. The other three candidates asked that their names be withheld from public discussion as they did not want their current employers to know that they are seeking employment elsewhere. The search committee reviewed those candidates in a closed session.

Among the nine potential candidates is Michael Brooks, a retired Marine Corps officer who grew up in Polson. Brooks has a family home just outside of Polson on Montana 35.

“I was really impressed with him, he’s very personable,” Mercer said, adding that his background “would lend itself to local government.”

The other candidates reviewed during the public session were Brian Bender, chief administrative officer of Deer Lodge; J.D. Cox, most recently the city manager of Longwood, Florida; Alan Lanning, most recently the city manager of Cordova, Alaska and previously the city manager for Steamboat Springs, Colorado; Darcy Long, former city manager of Gladstone, Michigan; and Ed Meece, the former city manager of Livingston, Montana.

Committee member Larry Ashcraft commented that he would like to see more information about each candidate, rather than a “glossy resume,” in order to narrow the list down to the top picks for the city commission’s consideration.

Mercer said he would come back with more in-depth reviews.

“This is a pretty early stage of the evaluation process,” he told the committee. “If you want me to do some additional due diligence, I’d be happy to do that.”

Mercer said some characteristics the committee should be looking for in a city manager include experience, leadership and personality.

The city posted the job opening earlier this year and advertised the vacancy on various job boards, including with the International City/County Management Association. Applications were accepted through Feb. 28.

According to the city’s recruitment brochure, the city manager is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the city, working under the policy guidance the city commission. The city has 43 full-time non-unionized employees who ultimately report to the city manager.

Applicants are required to have a degree in Public Administration, Political Science, Business Management or a closely related field. In addition, the successful candidate should have at least five years of experience in public administration. Starting salary for the new city manager will be “market competitive depending upon the experience and qualifications,” the job posting states. The salary was set at $90,353 in 2018, according to a survey of city manager salaries conducted by the city.