City commissioners cut manager field to six

Sarasota residents will get hours to chat with and hear from six city manager finalists this month after city commissioners on Tuesday chose six of them from a list of 38 contenders for in-person visits.

The finalists, Harry Black, Kemarr Brown, Chris Rodriguez, Troy Anderson, Tim Gleason and Karie Friling, hail from as far as Stockton, California and as close as Homestead.

Their experience as a city manager ranges from none to more than 10 years, though more broadly they've worked in the corporate world, other government agencies and the intelligence community.

Five of the six were on a recommended list of finalists, provided by Sumter Local Government Consulting, based on video interviews.

Over three-and-a-half hours during Tuesday’s special meeting, commissioners had as many as 10 people on their own short list, ultimately cut down by a voting process that ended in Black receiving more weighted votes than anyone.

No matter the internal voting results, said Warren Hutmacher, owner and principal of Sumter Local Government Consulting, finalists will arrive in Sarasota with a clean slate and should be considered equals.

A final decision on a job offer will likely come on Feb. 27 in another special meeting that follows two days of in-person time with the finalists on Feb. 23-24. That decision will require approval of four of the five-member commission, along with successful background checks and contract negotiations.

In total, residents will have the opportunity to take part in a public open house and an open commission meeting featuring finalists answering questions one by one. Additionally, City Hall leadership will meet with the finalists, and a two-hour tour is planned on the second day. One-on-one commission interviews with the finalists also are planned.

Spouses and partners are encouraged to also make the trip with the finalists.

“What you want to occur, if people are serious about the job, they will bring a decision maker, it’s a family decision,’’ said Hutmacher. “They should have the opportunity to go around, and we’ll provide them with some resources, you know, here’s some things to see, here’s a list of Realtors. We want to make it such that they’re making an informed decision so that we don’t get to the end of the process, and they bail on you.’’

Current Interim City Manager Dave Bullock, the third since Marlon Brown retired in October, 2024, plans to step away from City Hall on March 6. A fourth interim leader might be necessary to cover a potential gap, though for now the process is on the city’s planned timeline.

As she had in January, Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch pushed for an unplanned interim step in the interview process. She proposed sticking with their 10-finalist list and conducting a series of one-on-one video conference calls, then voting on six people – at a regular commission meeting next week — to bring to town.

“We’re had no personal interaction with them,’’ she said. “This is a new process for us. I would love the opportunity, very much appreciate the opportunity, to talk to them. There are 10 of them here, it’s a simple phone call we could make for 10 minutes, you’ll get a feeling for them when you have a one-one-one conversation.’’

Hutmacher said keeping the field larger than six runs the risk of making candidates feel like the odds getting a job offer are greater, possibly prompting them to drop. “Six is a larger number anyway,’’ he said, adding a finalist pool of three or four is typical.

With only support from Commissioner Kyle Battie, Ahearn-Koch’s proposal was defeated.

“You’re going to have to make the tough choice,’’ Hutmacher said.