Special City Commission Meeting on City Manager Finalist Selection - March 27, 2025

The Sarasota City Commission held a special meeting on March 27, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 3:02 PM to discuss narrowing the candidate pool for the City Manager position. The meeting included public comments, a presentation from Human Resources and the search firm Colin Baenziger & Associates, and extensive deliberation. The Commission ultimately decided to pause the selection process, request all 51 applications for review, and have each commissioner submit up to ten preferred candidates before a workshop and special meeting scheduled for April 11, 2025.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Mark Kauffman (in person) urged the Commission to prioritize character, personality, financial expertise, nonpartisanship, a clean background ("no skeletons"), and a commitment to open government and implementation of voted directives over strict city manager experience. He also noted there are four women on the Commission and suggested considering a female candidate.
• Martin Hyde (in person) recommended that former commissioner and mayor Kelly Kirshner be placed on the finalist list, citing his administrative experience as a college dean, political experience, and lifelong residency.
• Kelly Franklin (via Zoom) referenced the 2012 city manager search process, which used a citizens' advisory committee and took two rounds to find a consensus candidate. She cautioned against overly restrictive criteria, noting that the current candidate pool (51) is half the size of the 2012 pool (104) despite a 50% higher salary. She urged the Commission to take time and choose wisely.

Discussion Items

• Presentation on Recruitment Process: HR Director Stacie Mason and Rick Conner of Colin Baenziger & Associates reviewed the timeline: recruitment began January 9, 2025, closed February 7, producing 51 applicants; nine top candidates were presented March 18, but one withdrew, leaving eight. The original objective was to narrow to five finalists for on-site interviews tentatively scheduled for April 10-11.
• Process & Timeline Concerns: Commissioners raised concerns about the tight schedule, lack of opportunity for the citizen panel to meet with the full Commission, and the need for a more structured open house (town hall format) where candidates answer public questions. The Commission agreed to restructure the Friday schedule to allow one-on-one meetings with panel members before candidate interviews.
• Qualification Preferences: Commissioners expressed differing priorities. Commissioner Ahearn-Koch emphasized coastal experience, sea level rise, state-of-health emergency experience, infrastructure funding, FEMA experience, and community engagement—ranking city manager experience as secondary. Mayor Alpert and others valued vision, leadership ability, and the capacity to carry out Commission directives. Vice Mayor Trice noted she found three enthusiastic candidates among the eight. Other commissioners reported only one or two preferred candidates.
• Request for All Applications: Commissioner Ahearn-Koch requested the applications of all 51 candidates, stating she had six candidates on her own list that were not among the eight finalists. Rick Conner explained that extensive background checks were only performed on the finalist group, but the raw applications were available and would be provided by March 28.
• Straw Poll Discussion: Mr. Conner proposed a straw poll where each commissioner would mark their top five to produce a ranked list. Commissioner Ohlrich voiced reluctance due to lack of consensus on criteria and the limited number of candidates she found suitable. The Commission decided not to proceed with a straw poll at this time.
• Workshop vs. Decision-Making: Commissioner Ohlrich noted that having this discussion in a workshop format earlier would have been preferred, but moving forward she suggested if none of the eight are a good fit, the process should restart. The Commission agreed to revisit the full applicant pool.

Key Outcomes

• Motion approved 5-0 (Commissioner Ohlrich, seconded by Vice Mayor Trice): Direct staff to schedule a Sarasota City Commission Workshop. Each commissioner will submit up to ten candidates from the full pool of 51 to the HR Director, who will compile and distribute the consolidated list prior to the workshop.
• Workshop and Special Meeting Scheduled: April 11, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (workshop) and 1:00 PM (special meeting) at City Hall.
• Deadline for Commissioner Submissions: April 7, 2025 (if unable to meet, April 8).
• Applications Provided: All 51 candidate applications will be provided to the Commission by Friday, March 28, 2025.
• No Finalist List Selected: The Commission did not select a finalist list or conduct a straw poll during this meeting.
• Next Steps: The search firm will provide the names of the two sourced candidates upon request. The Commission will review applications, submit individual top-ten lists, and discuss at the April 11 workshop before potentially selecting finalists for interviews at the subsequent special meeting.