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Council debates proposals to change city manager qualification language in charter
Summary
A councilmember led a substantive discussion about amending the city charter's qualifications for the city manager post, proposing alternatives to a master's-degree requirement to broaden the candidate pool; no formal vote was taken during the study session.
A councilmember raised concerns that existing charter language on city manager qualifications may narrow the candidate pool and proposed amending the charter to broaden qualifying credentials.
"Change the requirement from a master's degree to 10 years of public admin experience, a bachelor's degree in public administration or related field," the councilmember said while describing one draft option. The speaker said the current draft may exclude earlier applicants who held master's degrees but had slightly fewer years of experience, and urged the council to consider alternative language to expand the pool.
Several options were discussed on the record: retaining a master's-degree requirement with five years of experience; specifying a bachelor's degree plus five years of increasingly responsible public-administration experience; or allowing combinations of related degrees and experience. The councilmember said the goal is to avoid legally or practically excluding qualified candidates when the city needs to hire in the future.
No final decision or charter amendment vote occurred during the study session; the topic was discussed for council feedback and potential future consideration.
