The top three candidates for the city manager’s position will be in Portland on Wednesday for interviews with the City Council.

The city has not released the names of the candidates, but City Hall Communications Director Jessica Grondin said all three candidates are men. Two are from Maine, while the other is from out of state, she said.

Mayor Michael Brennan said the council has not decided whether it will choose a new manager after the interviews on Wednesday, or hold additional interviews.

In 2011, during the last search for a city manager, the council held a public reception with the finalists before choosing a manager. Brennan said he did not even know whether the names of the finalists would be made public this time around.

Brennan was also tight-lipped about the qualifications of the candidates being interviewed and whether he believes there is a candidate who would be a good fit for the city.

“The three people we (will) interview, we believe, are the best candidates of the applicants and that they’re all qualified to be manager of the city of Portland,” Brennan said. “The reason we are interviewing them is so we can decide where we go next.”

The candidates were interviewed Tuesday by two other panels: one composed of city employees, the other of citizens and business leaders.

Chris Hall, president and chief executive officer of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, served on the second panel. Members agreed to keep the candidates’ names confidential, but Hall said he was impressed with what he saw.

“There’s no question that the city is going to have some great candidates to look at,” Hall said. “I’m confident any one of them would be a perfect choice.”

The council is looking for someone to take over the day-to-day operations in Maine’s largest city at a time when it is under intense scrutiny from the state over its welfare programs. The council is hoping to have a new manager by the start of the fiscal year on July 1.

Police Chief Michael Sauschuck is filling the position until a permanent replacement is found. He took over for acting City Manager Sheila Hill-Christian, who left on May 8 to take an assistant city manager position in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Councilors publicly encouraged Hill-Christian to seek the full-time manager’s position after Mark Rees retired last September because of her experience and ability to gain the trust and respect of city staff. She declined, saying that she wanted to remain the deputy city manager, prompting the council to extend the deadline for other applicants. Sixty-six people eventually applied for the position after a nationwide search.

Prior to her departure, Hill-Christian submitted a proposed budget to the council that would eliminate 24 positions, including 15 layoffs, and close a temporary overflow shelter that has been used every day since 2010 when the city-run Oxford Street Shelter is full.

The $221 million budget seeks to close a $10 million gap, driven primarily by a $5.7 million loss in state General Assistance revenue and nearly $3 million in wage and benefit increases for city staff, with a modest tax rate increase of 2.9 percent.

The LePage administration is forcing the city to change its welfare programs. The state will no longer reimburse the city for the operating costs of its homeless shelters – a reversal of a 30-year agreement, city officials say.

The city is also budgeting for a change in eligibility for General Assistance. Gov. Paul LePage is trying on several fronts to prohibit asylum seekers and visa holders from receiving emergency assistance.

That proposal is in his budget being considered by the state Legislature and is the subject of a court case.

If the change takes effect, more than 400 families totaling more than 900 people in Portland could lose benefits.

The new manager will also come at a time of significant turnover at City Hall, including the city manager, deputy city manager, police chief, fire chief, finance director and human resources director.

In the last year, much of that turnover has been in the city’s Health and Human Services Department, including the department director, homeless shelter director and the social services director.

 

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