TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The City of Tallahassee is speeding up the process to hire a permanent city manager.
The commission debated the issue Wednesday and voted to have a list of candidates by October.
The original plan was to fill the position by April 2019.
Commissioner Nancy Miller asked for an update Wednesday, but the discussion turned into a matter of timing and who should hire the new city manager.
Commissioner Miller said it's hard for Tallahassee to advance without a permanent city manager and proposed the interim Reese Goad stay in that position for two years.
That way, the new commission would have time to get to know local government and not worry about picking another new official, too.
Commissioner Gil Ziffer suggested speeding up the process, so current commissioners can decide whether or not to hire a candidate, or leave that to the new commission.
Commission Miller withdrew her motion and voted against the substitute, which passed 3-2.
"Who's going to apply when a month later, or a week later, you're going to be working for somebody different, and you don't really know who or whether they're going to like you. Not to mention the fact that if this were to be someone from outside, they're going to be on a learning curve, too," said Miller. "So, obviously, try to hire the most competent people out there."
Several commissioners encouraged Reese Goad to apply for the permanent position and praised him for his leadership after Ric Fernandez officially stepped down in January.
A city spokesperson told WTXL Thursday that staff will contact the recruiting company it hired last month and get the ball rolling.
