After 6 months and 3 lost candidates, this local city is on the verge of hiring a new city manager

Two of the 32 candidates that applied to be Trenton’s city manager have bowed out because they didn’t want to relocate, according to officials.

Two of the 32 candidates that applied to be Trenton’s city manager have bowed out because they didn’t want to relocate, according to officials.

The Trenton city council is hoping to welcome its new city manager next week after a lengthy search that included three top candidates who dropped out of the running.

Mayor Calvin Woodrey said the council has offered the $95,000-a-year job to one of the 32 candidates who applied. He said that candidate, who is not yet being identified, passed the background check and staff are now calling references. The city council plans to discuss contract specifics with the candidate Thursday.

“We’re looking for someone who is anxious to get started and get to know all of us, all of our personalities, and work together to make Trenton a better place,” Woodrey said.

RELATED: Trenton still searching for a new city manager 

When the search began, Woodrey said the new city manager will need to “hit the ground running with some economic development experience” so that person can continue to find industrial park users but also secure more food and entertainment businesses.

The mayor said the council’s choice pick fits the bill.

“This person is currently working in a community where there is a lot economic development,” Woodrey said. “He has a lot of experience in that.”

The path to replacing John Jones — who left in August to become city manager in Hamilton County’s Springdale — has been a little rocky. The council offered the job to Amy Young, Trenton branch manager for the MidPointe Library System, but the day after she accepted she learned her husband was being transferred out of state, according to Woodrey.

The council liked two other candidates — Jennifer Patterson, Monroe’s assistant to the city manager for economic development, and Milford’s City Manager Michael Doss — but they dropped out because they didn’t want to relocate. The city’s charter mandates the city manager live within the city limits.

Several other Butler County government officials also applied for the job, including Mike McNamara, head of the Butler County Port Authority; Nick Garuckas, Hamilton city clerk; Marcos Nichols, Hamilton civil service and personnel director for the department of civil service; and Todd Farler, Madison Twp. administrator.

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