The City of Santa Barbara has narrowed its search for a new city administrator to five candidates, including Paul Casey, the city’s acting top boss.
The council will interview candidates at 8 a.m. Wednesday in a special closed session meeting at Casa Las Palmas, 323 E. Cabrillo Blvd.
Kristy Schmidt, administrative services director, said the city will hold interviews this week, again in January and make a decision by the end of the month.
Schmidt said 37 people applied for the position, which included candidates in and out of California.
The city is looking to replace 14-year City Administrator Jim Armstrong, who retired in September.
The City Council agreed to spend $33,200 on the recruitment process, which includes the cost of the consultant contract and travel and expenses for certain candidates.
Ralph Anderson and Associates is doing the nationwide recruitment. The city hired the same firm to conduct its city attorney recruitment, which resulted in the hiring of Ariel Calonne from the City of Ventura earlier this year. The cities of Carlsbad, Fountain Valley and Santa Rose used the same firm.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
