Estevan city council isn’t rushing into a decision to hire a new city manager.
Mayor Roy Ludwig said they haven’t officially started the search for the new manager, as they have been debating whether to have a broad search or focus internally.
“It’s council’s decision, and they have the right to pick from within,” said Ludwig.
City treasurer Jeff Ward has been the acting city manager since mid-October, when Amber Smale was let go from the job after 20 months.
“We haven’t really gone in-depth on applications from outside at this time,” said Ludwig.
Ludwig expects council will likely meet within the next month to discuss the hiring process for the next city manager, and then make a decision whether to go in-house for Smale’s replacement, or look beyond Estevan’s borders.
If they do look beyond Estevan, the amount of time it takes to find a new permanent city manager will depend on the extent of the job search. When council went through this process in late 2013 and early 2014, they contracted out someone to help with the process, which yielded applications from outside of Saskatchewan.
Ludwig noted they had seven or eight applications last time, and they short-listed three or four candidates.
“It takes special qualities to be a city manager,” said Ludwig. “You have to have excellent communication skills, you have to be able to get along well with others, and you have to have foresight, moving the city forward in a pro-active manner.”
A job hunt for a city manager can also prove to be expensive, thanks to the cost of hiring a recruiting agency and advertising for the position.
