Palm Coast Council narrows city manager search to a smaller semifinalist pool, asks recruiter to keep recruiting

Palm Coast City Council on not specified heard a presentation from SGR recruiter Doug Thomas on the city manager recruitment and agreed to move a smaller group of applicants forward for semifinalist review while the recruiter continues marketing the position.

The move followed a detailed briefing from Thomas, who told the council the search drew roughly 38 initial applicants and about 35 active candidates at the time of the presentation. Thomas said the campaign reached candidates nationwide and that the next steps would be to ask semifinalists to complete a written questionnaire and prerecorded video responses so the council could assess experience and address any items that appear in media or background searches. "All you're doing is narrowing the pool down," Thomas said, explaining the process and stressing that deeper vetting occurs at the semifinalist and finalist stages.

The council said it was not satisfied that the current pool had enough high-end candidates and cited two recurring concerns: several applicants with short tenures at multiple recent employers, and some applicants with departures that showed up in public records and media searches. The mayor (unnamed) said, "I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. So I'm happy to narrow this down to five and keep moving forward," and urged care in avoiding hires who would leave the city after a short tenure.

Council members provided names they wanted to advance for semifinalist review; the list the council discussed and recorded in the meeting includes Paul Trombino, Cesar Garcia, Daniel (Dan) Coviello, Denise Fitzgerald, Jerome Wilverding, Richard Ho (spelled in materials), David Stroll, Michael Reese, Jim Manfry and several others the council referenced during the session. The council asked SGR to begin the semifinalist-stage work—detailed questionnaires, prerecorded video responses and a stage-one media check—on the candidates the council nominated while SGR continues to recruit additional applicants.

Thomas told the council the pool reflected national trends: raw applicant totals for comparable city‑manager openings have declined since the COVID period and the search was extended past the holidays to allow additional submissions. He said finalists would face deeper background checks, media searches and 360-degree reference checks before the council selected finalists for in-person interviews.

Council members also discussed process mechanics. Several asked SGR to filter out candidates with obvious pending legal actions or other red flags before presenting semifinalist materials. Councilmember Gambera said a simple online check that flags pending felony cases or adverse employment actions would be helpful before the council spends time reviewing a candidate. Councilmember Miller urged balance: keep viable local candidates in the pool while continuing outreach so strong prospects are not lost to other jurisdictions.

Outcome and next steps: Council directed SGR and staff to (1) advance the council‑nominated candidates into the semifinalist step (questionnaire + prerecorded video) for review; (2) continue marketing and recruiting to expand the pool; and (3) return semifinalist materials and stage‑one media findings to the council for ranking and selection of finalists. The city will schedule the semifinalist packet review for a future public meeting as required by recent state guidance on recruiting for public‑sector executive posts.

The council discussion lasted more than an hour and involved multiple questions about candidate stability, the geographic reach of the search, and the kinds of technical experience the city will need for its utilities and capital projects.