GAYLORD — The search for a new Otsego County administrator will accelerate this week as the committee screening applicants will begin to interview candidates.
In May, county board chairman Brett McVannel appointed Gaylord City Manager Kim Awrey, Otsego County Sheriff Matthew Nowicki, Otsego County Human Resources Director Betty Westenbarger and county commissioners Terra Deming, Christi Sortor, Dana Wingo and himself to serve on a panel that will find a successor to current county administrator Matt Barresi, who is stepping down next month.
“Interviews will start tomorrow (Wednesday), Thursday and Friday. We have had a great response and we are interviewing nine (candidates),” McVannel said after the Tuesday, June 24 county board meeting. “We have an A file and a B file. The A file is the nine being interviewed and the B file will be if no one in the A file works out.”
McVannel said the committee has discussed the process of narrowing down the candidate list.
“We are just going to play it by ear. If we do the interviews and then determine that one candidate is a standout, we may not need to do that (narrow down the candidate list). Or if we determine that five of them need a second interview then we will do that,” he said.
McVannel said it appears unlikely that a successor to Barresi will be chosen in the next month.
“Even if someone gets a tentative offer, then you have to do a background check and the individual will have to give notice to their current employer. Most of the applicants are already city managers or county administrators so they will probably have to give a month’s notice. If we can get it done in August I would be thrilled,” McVannel said.
He noted that Barresi is done as of July 25 because that is when his contract expires. If that happens, McVannel will become the temporary county administrator assisted by the administrative staff. He said over 30 people have applied for the position and applications have come from all over the country.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Interviews underway for Otsego County administrator candidates
Reporting by Paul Welitzkin, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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