City Manager Search to Start In-House

Though they had hoped to settle the matter, the Oxnard City Council came out of a closed session Tuesday afternoon without a decision on when or how to conduct a search for a permanent city manager.

Instead, the council has decided to give interested city staffers a chance to informally apply for the position before a nationwide search is launched, city officials said.

The next two weeks will give potential in-house candidates an opportunity to talk with council members about their views and plans for the city.

At a council retreat two weeks ago, Councilmen John Zaragoza, Bedford Pinkard and Mayor Manuel Lopez said they supported going to an outside firm to find a pool of potential candidates. The search, they said, should include current city staffers that would be interested in applying for the position.

“I think we should talk to anybody in the city that is interested, but I still think we should look outside,” too, Zaragoza said Tuesday.

But Councilmen Dean Maulhardt and Tom Holden said they preferred to begin an internal search before seeking outside candidates.

Recruiting firms typically cost as much as $21,000 and their searches take up to 16 weeks to complete.

Pinkard said he has been told that Public Services Director Matthew Winegar, Community Affairs Manager Jim Faulconer and Interim City Manager Prisilla Hernandez are interested in applying for the job.

Police Chief Harold Hurtt has also been mentioned by city officials as a potential candidate, but Hurtt declined comment on the matter Tuesday.