Helena City Commission reviews accelerated city manager search; community urges broader engagement

Helena City Commission met in a special session July 21 to review a proposed recruitment plan from Communication Management Services LLC to fill the city manager post after City Manager Burton announced he will retire at the end of the year. The materials in the commission packet proposed a compact timeline intended to produce finalists before year-end, a revised salary range and a public engagement element led by the consultant.

The recruitment plan matters because the city manager is Helena City’s chief executive and selecting a permanent successor will shape the city’s administration through the upcoming budget season and beyond. Commissioners and members of the public pressed for clarity about committee composition, community input before initial screening, and the effect of Thanksgiving and other holidays on the consultant’s proposed schedule.

Drew Geiger, a consultant with Communication Management Services, told the commission the firm had modeled the timeline on the last Helena search and had already begun outreach. Geiger said the search would advertise through national and professional channels and that “we're not guaranteeing a candidate by this time… If all goes well and we get good applicants in, I can tell you we have in‑state and…