Bangor begins city manager search; residents press for local residency, housing restraint and services for unhoused

Don Garish, a consultant with Eaton Peabody Consulting Group hired by the Bangor City Council to run its city manager search, told residents at a public meeting in Bangor that the council will advertise the vacancy for about four weeks with a likely application deadline around Feb. 25 and that first-round interviews are planned for the first week of March.

The timeline Garish described calls for the council to review resumes in early March, hold first-round interviews (in person or by Zoom) and then invite finalists back for in-person visits and full background checks in late March or the first week of April, with a potential offer and public announcement in the second week of April if the process proceeds on schedule. Garish said his office will receive all resumes, provide weekly counts to the council (including how many applicants are from Maine) and perform full background checks only on finalists, including educational, financial and criminal checks and reference checks.

The meeting doubled as an opportunity for residents to name priorities for the incoming manager. The most repeated items were whether the manager should be required to live in Bangor, how to manage development and neighborhood density, and expanded services for people experiencing homelessness and substance-use disorder.

"Somebody that's a critical thinker ... pro family, pro business," said Mike Farrell, a Bangor resident, describing the mix of skills he wants. Farrell also said the next manager needs to address "the amount of crime and drugs and homelessness" in the city.

Multiple speakers said they prefer a manager who lives in Bangor or at least in Maine. "I think all employees who are employed by Bangor should live in Bangor," said Karen (who identified herself as a local resident). Don Garish said residency rules are a council decision and that making residency a formal requirement can limit the candidate pool; he cited an example in which a strict residency requirement initially produced no Maine applicants for another city's search.

Residents also urged attention to economic development, nonprofit support, and recreation. "We need someone who is engaged and understands the value of education in every form," said Kate Dickerson, executive director of the Maine Discovery Museum, who urged a manager who understands the city's cultural and nonprofit sector. Speakers suggested more small-business recruitment, enhanced parks and recreation programming, and expansion of community gardens as quality-of-life investments.

Several participants raised concerns about housing density and development in established single-family neighborhoods. One resident described a longtime single-family lot that was demolished and is now slated for several new addresses, calling the change disruptive to neighborhood character.

Public-health and human-services needs were a recurring theme. "I think our biggest challenge right now is creating more psychiatric and drug rehab services for our community," said Tricia Court, who said the city must find lasting solutions for people who are unhoused or have substance-use disorders. Several speakers tied stronger human-services capacity to the city's ability to support cultural organizations and the business community.

Garish described his fee as a flat rate that does not change if the search must be repeated, though he said expenses would be billed separately. He said the market for municipal managers has tightened and that the council's materials will emphasize the community's expectations so candidates understand local conditions (including Maine winters) before interviewing. He added that his role is advisory and that the nine elected council members will make the final hiring decision.

The council is scheduled to finalize the job advertisement at an upcoming meeting. Garish encouraged written comments from residents while the council finalizes the ad and confirmed the search will proceed on the timeline he outlined unless the council directs otherwise.