Screening committee to review resumes, interview applicants
The San Juan Bautista city council is putting together an ad-hoc
committee to help vet six candidates for the permanent city
manager, one of whom is interim City Manager Steven Julian.
”
The public wants to be part of the process,
”
said Trish Paetz, San Juan city clerk.
Screening committee to review resumes, interview applicants
The San Juan Bautista city council is putting together an ad-hoc committee to help vet six candidates for the permanent city manager, one of whom is interim City Manager Steven Julian.
“The public wants to be part of the process,” said Trish Paetz, San Juan city clerk.
As for getting community members involved in the process, Mayor Ed Laverone said, “It’s just the way it should be. The city needs to hear from people that are out there.”
Laverone said four of the committee members have been approved and the fifth will be approved at the April 20 council meeting.
“They are people that are somewhat involved, but not overly involved,” he said. “They have some history and different experience in the community.”
He said one council member chose someone who lives outside the community, but who has experience in city management.
“They are not making the choice,” he said. “They are just the screening committee.”
After the April 20 meeting, the screening committee will review the six applicants to see if they meet the minimum requirements.
From there, they will conduct an interview process, asking each candidate the same list of questions.
“From that they will narrow the list down and make a recommendation to the council of who the top two or three are.”
The screening committee not only helps get the community involved, but it also allows the council to better vet the candidates, according to Laverone.
“I can’t recall it being done in the past, but it’s not something that is unusual,” he said. “It’s a way of vetting candidates a little more. In the past, the city hadn’t, not in the recent past. Of the last four city managers, probably two could have been vetted better.”
He added that the more thorough interview process allows more insight into the candidates’ thought processes in a management position rather than how they look on paper.
Paetz said the screening committee is expected to meet within a week of the April 20 city council meeting to review the resumes. From there, interviews will be set up for candidates.
Julian has been the interim city manager since he was hired June 17, 2008, a month after the city council members voted to fire former city manager Jan McClintock.
The city had advertised the job on its Web site since late last year. After the initial Dec. 28 deadline, when only one candidate applied – acting city manager Julian – the city extended the deadline to Jan. 29 with the hope of attracting more applicants.
During the extended application period, the city advertised the job with the League of California Cities and five other candidates surfaced.
