Mayor Rory Rowland | City of Independence
Mayor Rory Rowland | City of Independence
The Independence City Council has voted unanimously to hire SGR, a search firm, to lead the recruitment process for the city’s next manager. The decision was made during a special council meeting held on October 20, with all seven council members in agreement.
According to the City Manager Recruitment Subcommittee, SGR brings experience from conducting nearly two dozen city manager searches across the Midwest. These have included searches in cities such as Springfield, Missouri; Olathe, Kansas; Battle Creek, Michigan; and Fort Collins, Colorado.
Councilmember Bridget McCandless, who chairs the subcommittee overseeing the recruitment process, said: "This is an exciting time to shape the future of Independence. Quality leadership matters, and selecting a search firm is an important step towards finding the next city manager. This person will lead Independence through a World Cup, our upcoming bicentennial, and into our next 200 years."
Updates about the hiring process will be provided to residents as they become available. Those interested can watch a recording of the October 20 meeting online. However, it should be noted that audio quality was affected by an AWS outage on that day. Meeting minutes are also accessible online, and recordings of all subcommittee meetings are available on the city's YouTube channel.
Lisa Reynolds is currently serving as interim city manager following Zach Walker’s departure after nearly ten years in the role. Walker left to take up a new position in Bloomington, Minnesota as of October 12.
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