Cohen said the initial interviews were conducted with eight candidates but that the entire list of 21 candidates remains because “council want to keep its options open.”
“No one has received a rejection letter yet from the city,” she said.
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The following candidates, in alphabetical order, have received initial interviews from council:
• Ana Cortez, city manager and chief financial officer, city of Helena, Mont.
• Richard Downey, village administrator, village of Kronenwetter, Wis.
• Shawn Henessee, former county manager, Clark County, Wash.
• Greg Horwadel, deputy county administrator, Hillsborough County, Fla.
• Thomas Hutka, city manager, city of Port Huron, Mich.
• Sara Mills Klein, human resource director, city of Kettering, Ohio.
• James Palenick, city administrator, Racine, Wis.
• Robert Zienkowski, township manager/secretary, Radnor Twp., Pa.
Henessee’s name was omitted by the recruiter from the initial list of candidates that the city announced recently, she said.
Cohen said the city is working on scheduling a second round of interviews.
Cincinnati-based executive search firm Management Partners is conducting the nationwide search and applicants are from as far away as California and as close as Butler County.
According to the recruitment brochure, the compensation package listed a salary range of $145,000 to $185,000 and a competitive fringe benefit offering. The brochure also noted that council “desires the next city manager to be a resident of the community and is prepared to offer relocation/moving assistance commensurate with a contractual obligation to fulfill such residency expectations.”
Cohen has been acting city manager since November, when Middletown City Council terminated former city manager Doug Adkins. At that time, the council said it no longer desired to employ Adkins as city manager “because of irreconcilable differences between Council and Mr. Adkins concerning leadership style, and these differences make his continued work as City Manager untenable.”
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