Panama City Commission to interview city manager candidates Friday, maybe make a decision
PANAMA CITY − City officials hope to soon end their search for a new city manager.
Panama City commissioners have called a special meeting on Friday to publicly interview the top two candidates for city manager. They are Jonathan Hayes, public works director for Panama City; and Darnell Ingram, general council and chief compliance officer for Baltimore, Maryland.
Officials have noted they might make their decision following the interviews. This, however, would require a 3-2 majority vote.
"We need to stabilize our ship, and we need to move forward," Commissioner Jenna Haligas said during a meeting on Tuesday. "I think we should all be ready to make decisions after that day."
"Moving into 2024, it would be nice to have that already decided," Commissioner Brian Grainger added. "It's one less thing off of our plate, having the team ready to go and knowing who's going to be captaining the ship."
Hayes and Ingram were named the top two applicants during a commission meeting in November. They were selected from a previous pool of the top five applicants that was set by the commission in September.
Hayes and Ingram will be given 10 minutes each during Friday's special meeting to introduce themselves and explain why they believe they are best suited for the position. They will then be asked a variety of questions from commissioners and have three minutes to respond to each.
Commissioners have worked for several months to find a new city manager to replace former City Manager Mark McQueen, who resigned from the position on Aug. 1 and is now superintendent of Bay District Schools.
The role is being temporarily held by Brandy Waldron, who serves as interim city manager and interim CRA director. Waldron has taken on these duties in addition to her existing responsibilities as assistant city manager of budget, human resources, development services, logistics, quality of life, economic developments, business services and CRA.
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Friday's special meeting will be held at 8 a.m. in the Bay County Government Center, 840 W. 11th St.
"It's very important as we're (making the selection) we get comfortable with the candidates," Commissioner Josh Street said. "If somebody feels like they need more time to process, I don't want them to feel like we're going to try and force something."
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Decision coming? Panama City to interview manager candidates Friday
