Troutdale reviews city manager profile, agrees to advertise $170,000–$210,000 salary range

The Troutdale City Council met in a work session April 1 to review a draft position profile and hiring procedures for the city manager recruitment and to set the recruitment timeline. Eric Jensen, principal at Jensen Strategies, walked the council through required qualifications, preferred experience and a list of desired attributes for candidates, and presented a recommended advertising salary range. Council members agreed to raise the advertised salary range to $170,000–$210,000.

The position profile presented by Jensen summarizes minimum qualifications as a bachelor’s degree and at least three years of upper‑level local government management experience, with an option to consider an equivalent combination of education and experience. The preferred qualifications include an advanced degree and about five years of increasingly responsible experience. Jensen said the profile will be used as the primary evaluation tool for rating and ranking applicants through the recruitment process.

The draft lists core attributes the council identified in interviews and surveys: leadership and organizational management, experience working with governing bodies, public safety and intergovernmental relations, economic development and urban renewal familiarity, community engagement and communications, public works and finance oversight, human resources and succession planning, and an appreciation for Troutdale’s location in East Multnomah County and the Portland metropolitan region. Jensen told the council the profile also identifies three policy directives for the next city manager: addressing public safety arrangements, advancing an urban renewal redevelopment effort, and strengthening the city’s brand and use of city facilities.

Jensen outlined the hiring procedures required under the public meeting law and the recruitment calendar. The council is scheduled to adopt the final position profile and hiring procedures on April 8. The recruitment will be advertised from April 21 to May 26. Jensen said applicants must submit a cover letter explaining their interest and qualifications, a resume, and a standard form answering comparative questions (such as number of people supervised and budget size). Jensen described the review process: two experienced reviewers will screen applications, up to ten candidates will be interviewed by Zoom, and the council will meet in executive session to review semi‑finalists on June 9.

If the council selects finalists, Jensen said finalists will be asked whether they will proceed and whether they are willing to go public; finalists who agree will be announced with a press release and will undergo criminal, financial and civil litigation background checks and reference checks. The finalist week is scheduled for June 23–25, with receptions for city staff and community members, panel interviews (community leaders, public administrators and department heads), and council interviews on June 25 followed by an executive‑session deliberation and a public vote pending negotiations.

On salary, Jensen said the consultant team reviewed 10 comparable cities and recent recruitments and initially recommended advertising a $160,000–$200,000 range. Ray, Troutdale’s city manager, said he would recommend raising that range and several council members supported increasing the advertised range. The council reached consensus during the work session to advertise a $170,000–$210,000 salary range for the recruitment.

No formal final action other than adjournment occurred at the work session; the council adjourned after the items were discussed. Jensen and city staff will return to the council next week with a resolution to adopt the position profile and hiring procedures and to start the advertising and recruitment steps described above.