City manager contract to be approved at next meeting

City council members have reached a decision on who will be Carbondale's new city manager, and they expect to approve the hiring at their next meeting later this month.

Council members this week authorized the mayor and city attorney to negotiate a contract with the successful candidate, whose name hasn't been publicly announced.

The council interviewed three finalists last week. They include current Interim City Manager Stan Reno; Shawn Metcalf, former city administrator for the city of Hastings, Neb.; and Thomas Thomas, former city manager of Compton, Calif.

The position in Carbondale has been vacant since last March, when former city manager Gary Williams departed for another job. The council appointed Reno, also the city's police chief, to serve on an interim basis.

The council intends to approve the contract at its Jan. 28 meeting.