Golden City Council took its first steps toward landing a new city manager.
In a special Feb. 15 meeting, council members discussed hiring a consulting firm to recruit and select a candidate to fill the upcoming March vacancy created by current City Manager Jason Slowinski.
Slowinski announced his intention to resign and join the Colorado School of Mines as an associate vice president.
With a unanimous decision, council members selected Texas-based Baker Tilly for the job.
City of Golden Director of Human Resources Kristen Meier said the city put out a formal request to obtain an interested executive search firm.
She said four bids were received, with prices ranging from $30,000 on the high end to $17,000 on the low end.
In her opinion, Meier said the price range for this type of executive service was ”fair and equitable.”
Council members, during their discussion, strongly felt that how each candidate firm integrated diversity and inclusion in their search would be an important deciding factor as it is an essential element in the city’s philosophy.
”But if we recruit for Golden as if it’s a population of 20,000; in some way, I don’t feel that paints a true picture of the impact of the regional pressures on us,” said Councilmember Don Cameron.
City Manager Jason Slowinski, who was in attendance, disagreed.
”From my view, I came from a city of 20,0000, so for me, it’s a very similar experience,” he explained. ”From my perspective, I believe Golden bats far above its weight in terms of the overall scope. We have a full-service city and arguably more full service than some of our neighbors.”
Slowinski continued, asserting that Golden is one of the more established cities in the state and has a lot more influence than other cities of its size, making it attractive for candidates seeking a lateral move.
Meir said the next step would be to reach out to Baker Tilly to notify them of their selection, followed by the city preparing a contract.
To view all the candidate proposals online, visit the City of Golden’s website.