The Pinetop Lakeside town council voted unanimously to enter contract negotiations with Christie Salzko to be the town’s next manager and then moved into an executive session to direct the town attorney, an unidentified council member said.

The action to begin negotiations was proposed by an unidentified council member who said the hiring process had been difficult and relied on public input, a review panel and scoring metrics. "Either of these candidates would do an outstanding job," the speaker said before making the motion. The motion was seconded and carried by a show of hands; individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the transcript.

The council thanked "Jack" for his time and contribution at the meeting and expressed confidence in Christie Salzko. The speaker emphasized that the vote authorized contract negotiations only: "This is entering into contract negotiations," the speaker said, adding that "No decision will be firmly made tonight."

Before moving into executive session, the chair cited statutory authority, reciting "ARS 30 eight-431.03 A3 and 4" and explained that the code allows the council to meet in executive session for consultation with attorneys about contracts and to consider its position in pending or contemplated litigation or settlement discussions. The speaker said the executive session would be used to provide direction to the town manager and the town attorney related to the contract negotiations.

After a second motion — also moved and seconded on the record — the council voted unanimously to enter executive session. The speaker said the council would return only to adjourn and that there would be no additional votes or actions tonight. A subsequent meeting was scheduled for next week, where the contract itself is expected to be considered for approval.

Actions recorded in the meeting were limited to authorizing contract negotiations and directing staff and counsel to proceed; the transcript contains no final contract approval or vote tally by named members.

The council’s next procedural step is a follow-up session next week to review and potentially approve the negotiated contract.