Firestone trustees discuss accelerating town manager search; consultants propose posting this fall

Trustees opened a work session focused on restarting the town manager recruitment and invited consultants to present a timeline and process. Chair (speaker 4) called the meeting to order and identified the agenda item as the "town manager reboot." Consultants outlined a multi-stage search that begins with a public posting and an "alpha" ranking of applicants, followed by confidential semifinalist selection, virtual interviews and an on-site finalist process.

Mark, the consultant leading the presentation, said the firm recommends advertising for a minimum of 30 days but typically uses a five- to six-week posting to attract a stronger pool. "We will go ahead and advertise that position for a minimum of 30 days," he said, adding the firm often extends that window to five to six weeks to widen the candidate pool. Trustees debated whether preparatory steps—such as compiling the alpha list and building the candidate spreadsheet—should begin now with the existing board or be left to the incoming board after the November swearing-in.