Council approves city administrator search profile and timeline; consultant outlines schedule

The City of St. Paul Park City Council on May 5, 2025, approved a candidate profile, job description, salary range, scope of work and timeline to start the search for a new city administrator. The action followed a presentation from Bart Fisher of David Drown & Associates, the council’s retained executive-search consultant.

Fisher reviewed documents in the council packet — a draft profile and job advertisement, a job description and a search timeline and scope of work — and said the items were based on staff input and interviews with council members. He outlined the planned recruiting process: applications posted for about a month, initial screening to reduce applicants to roughly eight to 12 semifinalists, work-personality and video assessments, narrowing to up to five finalists, comprehensive background and reference checks, aptitude testing and then finalist interviews.

Fisher proposed dates for selection and interviews. The council confirmed a finalist-selection meeting on June 23, 2025, and agreed to a full-day final-interview date on July 14, 2025 (the consultant’s earlier draft had proposed July 16). Fisher said the firm would begin active recruiting immediately once the council approved the materials and would provide screening materials and candidate packets before the June selection meeting.

Council member and the mayor then moved and seconded a motion to approve the profile, job description, salary range, scope of work and timeline, which the council approved by voice vote. Fisher noted that finalist names become public information once semifinalists advance to the finalist stage and said the firm would perform detailed reference checks and background screening for finalists.