City Commission names four finalists for city manager interview; meet-and-greet Oct. 14, interviews Oct. 15

The Kalamazoo City Commission on Oct. 6 completed a confidential ranking process and selected four finalists to interview for the city manager position, the commission’s top administrative appointment. Vice Mayor Hess announced the four finalists in alphabetical order after the commission confirmed they were willing to go public: Elle Cole; Malcolm Hankins; Otis Jones Sr.; and Laura Lam.

Mayor Anderson described the selection as the culmination of a process that began months earlier when City Manager Jim Ritzma announced his retirement and the commission contracted the national search firm Raftelis to conduct recruitment. Commissioners reported receiving 56 applications; Raftelis screened and presented recommended candidates to the commission. The commission used ranked paper ballots in a public session to determine finalists while maintaining confidentiality for applicants who were not selected for interviews.

Clerk Borling later reported the point totals from the ranked ballots: candidate F had 46 points; candidate C had 34; candidate D had 34; and candidate A had 27. After the tally, Vice Mayor Hess read the four finalists’ names aloud and said the candidates had agreed to participate in the public stages of the process.

Vice Mayor Hess and the commission laid out the upcoming schedule: a public meet-and-greet for the finalists is set for Oct. 14 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Catalyst Center, 180 Water Street, and public interviews will take place the following day in the City Commission Chambers. Pamela from Raftelis (identified on the record as the city’s recruiter) will post summary bios for each finalist on the city’s city-manager search page.

Mayor Anderson and other commissioners emphasized the confidential nature of the earlier screening: applicants understood that names would remain confidential unless the commission decided to advance them for public interviews. The commission also voted earlier in the meeting to table and then later to un-table item L1 as part of the administrative process to confirm finalists’ willingness to participate publicly.

Commissioner Wilson, who served on the commission’s subcommittee with Vice Mayor Hess and Commissioner Prado, thanked community members who provided input to the search and described the process as competitive. Commissioners encouraged community participation at the scheduled meet-and-greet and interviews.

No hiring decision was made on Oct. 6; the public interviews and subsequent commission deliberations will determine the next steps in the selection process.