Bristol council moves to negotiate with sole city manager candidate, names local finalist

Bristol, Tenn. — The Bristol City Council on June 16 voted to move into contract negotiations with a sole candidate for city manager after a public search that drew more than 50 applications.

Mayor opened council discussion of the search, saying the application window ran May 1–May 15 and that candidates were initially reviewed using identifying numbers rather than names. The mayor told the meeting, “Yesterday I received a call with one of our candidates withdrew his name from consideration and as a result we have one sole candidate which is Mr. Matt Slegal that will be under consideration by Council for the position of City Manager.”

Council members discussed the council–manager form of government and professional standards, referencing the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) code of ethics and the traits sought in a manager, including integrity, collaboration and knowledge of the community. Several council members emphasized that the community had expressed a preference for a candidate with regional ties and that Mr. Slegal’s local connections and private-sector management experience were viewed positively by supporters.

A motion was made and seconded to place Mr. Slegal into nomination and to empower the city attorney and human resources to negotiate an employment contract with him. Council member Brady seconded the motion. The council approved moving to contract negotiations; any negotiated contract will return to the council for formal approval, with a target to take the employment agreement up at a later meeting (the mayor referenced July 7 as a possible date).

Council also welcomed Mr. Ramsey as the interim city manager at the meeting’s close.

The nomination and decision to begin negotiations were taken in open session; council members noted that background checks and interviews had been conducted in prior stages of the public search process.