Bluff City panel advances top candidate to background check after structured interviews

Bluff City’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen advanced one finalist to the next step in the town-manager hiring process Wednesday, voting to request a signed release to run background and credit checks after a day of structured interviews.

Consultant Pete Auger led the board through a standardized interview format intended to score candidates on five competencies: conceptual ability, motivation to achieve, work habits, interpersonal skills and communication. “We ask candidates about their past experience because how they performed in the past is a better predictor of what they will do in the future,” Auger told the board before the interviews began.

The board heard answers from three finalists over multiple rounds of questions. Auger described how board members should score each candidate on a 1-to-4 scale and then average the category scores to compare candidates. He warned the scoring was a tool, not a final hiring decision: “That doesn't mean whoever scores the highest might possibly be who we would hire. This is just a tool,” he said.

After the interviews, a board member moved to proceed to the next step with the candidate who scored highest in the panel’s assessments. The motion — to obtain the candidate’s signed release so the police department could perform a criminal-background check and a credit check could be run — passed on a roll call. Alderman Malone, Alderman Keith, Osman Adams and Alderman Johnson were recorded as voting yes; the mayor announced the motion had passed.

Board members discussed timing and next steps during the vote. Auger described the typical sequence after a background check: negotiating contract terms between the mayor and the town attorney and, only after background and credit checks are complete, making a final offer. Board members noted the candidate’s flight schedule and discussed giving the finalist time to consider any offer. The board also discussed salary-range parameters previously set for the position ($55,000 to $75,000) during the hiring discussion.

Board members and Auger emphasized that advancing a candidate to background screening is not an offer of employment. As Auger explained, background checks and contract negotiations are standard parts of the hiring sequence: “This won’t be a final offer until the background is done,” he said.

The board asked staff to prepare the release form and to coordinate with the police department to begin criminal-background screening once the candidate signs. If the candidate consents and checks clear, the mayor and town attorney would next discuss contract terms and return to the board with a proposed agreement.

The structured-interview process and the vote followed public comment earlier in the meeting and a multi-hour interview schedule during which board members repeatedly referenced Auger’s scoring sheets and behavioral benchmarks. The board did not make a final hire at the meeting; it only authorized the next step in the hiring process.