The field competing to become the assistant Park City manager has been reduced to two people, with City Hall’s human resources director saying she hopes one of them starts working by the end of the year.
Kim Leier, the human resources director and a key person in the recruitment, said neither of them is from within the municipal government. One of them is from Utah and the other one is from elsewhere.
She declined to provide details about either of the finalists. Internal City Hall panels involved in the hiring selected the finalists in October. The decision rests with Park City Manager Tom Bakaly.
The Park City Police Department is conducting background checks on the two, she said.
City Hall conducted a national recruitment to hire an assistant city manager, who with be the municipal government’s second-ranking staffer. Leier said more than 100 people applied for the job, and people from each state applied for the job. She said she is unaware of another City Hall opening that drew applications from people in all of the 50 states.
The Park City Council in mid-2009 set aside money for the assistant city manager position, agreeing with Bakaly that the workings of City Hall have become more complex in recent years and the help is warranted.
Bakaly earlier in the year said in an interview the position would be “an extension of my office.” In a written description submitted to Mayor Dana Williams and the City Council during the budget talks, Bakaly described the position as being an intermediary between City Hall and regular Parkites.
The assistant city manager will also improve communications within the municipal government, the description said.
The person will serve as the acting city manager in Bakaly’s absence, but the assistant city manager will not have a supervisory role over other staffers on a day-to-day basis.
The salary range for the position runs from $72,828 to $96,757, one of the highest salaries in City Hall.
The municipal government has not employed an assistant city manager since the 2002 Winter Olympic era. Bakaly held the position then until his hiring as the city manager.