The City of Turlock will soon have a new chief administrator, as the City Council is expected to select a candidate by mid-February.

The recruiting process drew over 40 candidates from around the region and country, according to Turlock Administrative Services Director Kellie Jacobs-Hunter. 

"We have a good selection of qualified, quality candidates to pick the next city manager of Turlock," she said.

The search for Turlock's next city manager began in October 2015, following Roy Wasden's announcement that he planned to retire by the end of the year. The City Council approved the hiring of executive recruitment firm Neher & Associates out of West Sacramento, at a cost of $30,000, and a review panel was formed to interview a select number of candidates.

The review panel — made up of Mayor Gary Soiseth, Interim City Manager and Municipal Services Director Michael Cooke, Ceres City Manager Toby Wells, Emanuel Medical Center CEO Sue Micheletti and Covenant Village Executive Director Bob Howell —will interview the selected candidates on Feb. 16.

In a one-day event, the final candidates selected by the review panel will then be interviewed in a special meeting of the City Council.

"We're very optimistic; we're hoping to get someone in place by March," said Jacobs-Hunter.

In their recruitment announcement, the City of Turlock sought candidates with "strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills as well as solid presentation and organizational abilities." 

The minimum qualifications for the position include five years of increasingly responsible administrative and managerial experience in a public or private agency involving strong executive level management. The City also required candidates to have at least three years of experience as a city manager, assistant city manager or CEO level of position.

The salary range for the city manager position is $210,696 to $256,104. Wasden was compensated just over $202,000 in base salary during his first year on the job in 2009.

The new city manager will be responsible for a General Fund budget of $34.3 million, approximately 336 full-time employees and administration of all City affairs.

The City Manager will also be responsible for implementing policies set by the City Council, which under the leadership of Mayor Soiseth, has included line-by-line analysis of the city budget, hard deadlines for meeting departmental goals and review of all contracts and permitting procedures.