City manager hiring delayed

The hiring of Maricopa’s next city manager has been put of for a month due to a delay in getting the recruitment profile finished and approved, according to Waters-Oldani Executive Recruitment Senior Consultant Chuck Rohre. 

The city hired Waters-Oldani in November for $22,000 to find a replacement for former City Manager Kevin Evans, who announced his intention to leave the position in September.

Under terms of his severance agreement, Evans stayed in place as city manager until Jan. 20, at which time City Clerk Vanessa Bueras took over the job on an interim basis. Evans will continue to receive his annual pay of $156,950 a year in biweekly installments until he finds a job paying a minimum of 80 percent of his previous pay, or until 12 months have elapsed.

Evans was recently a finalist for the city manager position in Corpus Christi, Tex, but was not tapped for the job.

Rohre originally predicted the city would be able to hire a new manager by the third week of February; now he expects the hiring to be finalized in the third week of March.

Waters-Oldani is reviewing more than 80 applications for the city manager job and plans to narrow that number to 15 in the next week. The recruiting firm will then gather additional information about the applicants and make a presentation to the city council. Based on that presentation, council will select candidates for interviews.

Qualifications for the position include a bachelor’s or master’s degree in public administration, business, finance or a related field and a minimum of 10 years municipal service, with five years of recent experience as a city manager or assistant city manager in a city of comparable or greater size preferred.

The city also is looking for a candidate with experience in a community that has encountered the challenges of rapid growth.

“We have a great group of candidates and are confident we will find a highly qualified person to work with the city for a long time,” Rohre said.

The city refused to provide information about applicants for the position.

While the search for a city manager continues, Bueras will remain interim city manager at an annual salary of $148,724. She will revert to her original salary once a new city manger is hired.