Council approves manager recruitment timeline and accepts personnel committee’s exit‑interview role

The Escanaba City Council approved a recruitment plan and timeline for the city manager vacancy and agreed to allow the personnel committee (the mayor and a council member) to conduct an exit interview with the outgoing manager.

Human Resources Director Heather Calouette outlined a proposed schedule: post the job as soon as counsel signs off on the job description, leave applications open through Feb. 1, conduct a two‑week review and first-round interviews in February, with follow-up interviews and a target offer window from March 9 to March 20 to accommodate notice periods for candidates who are currently employed elsewhere.

Council members debated how to screen applications. One councilor suggested the mayor and a council subcommittee handle an exit interview with the outgoing manager (Mr. McNeil) to gather lessons learned; other councilors asked that all members receive applications and allowed staff (Melissa, Heather) to recommend candidates for interview. Council approved the recruitment dates and advertisement plans and recorded the motion as passed.

On appointments, council reappointed Anne Bissell to the Electrical Advisory Committee and confirmed the city controller (Melissa Bacot) and Mr. McNeil to the Escanaba Building Authority.