The Fayetteville City Council nominating committee on Wednesday approved revisions to its interview rules and procedures, including scheduling language, time buffers for interviews and a reapplication policy for candidates with unexpired terms, and voted to remove a clause that would have barred the committee from interviewing nominees for mayor-appointed or externally nominated seats.

The vote formalized changes the committee debated earlier in the meeting and followed a 2–1 commission-level decision to strike the clause that would have prevented interviews of mayor-appointed and outside-entity nominees. "I move that we approve the changes as discussed," said Council Member Bob Stafford, chair of the nominating committee. The motion was seconded and carried in the committee vote by members present.

Committee members said the revisions are meant to create more predictable scheduling and more useful interviews. The adopted changes include specifying that nominating committee interviews are scheduled the week before the last city council meeting of the quarter (instead of strictly the Wednesday and Thursday before it), allocating a 15-minute time slot with a brief buffer so interviews are not rushed, and clarifying that when an interview session begins the committee will not attempt further notifications to candidates who are late. The committee also agreed candidates with an unexpired appointment that has more than one year remaining need to reapply; shorter-term unexpired seats would not be required to reapply.

The most contested change concerned whether the committee should continue to interview nominees the mayor or outside entities nominate (for example, housing authority or library-board seats). A proposed rule in the draft had said the nominating committee would not interview nominees placed by the mayor or separately nominated by outside entities. Several committee members and staff pushed back during discussion, noting the city sometimes receives public questions about selection processes and that interviews offer a public record and a way to