Potential candidates have a little bit longer to apply for Sequim’s top administrator position.

Consultant Colin Baenziger and his firm extended the application period for the city manager search from July 2 to July 16, Sequim city councilor Keith Larkin said at Monday’s city council meeting.

At the previous city council meeting on June 28, Larkin indicated that Baenziger may extend the deadline to receive more applications.

Larkin, council’s liaison to the consulting firm, said in a phone interview Monday that Baenziger had received 35 applications so far and that he hopes for 40-plus by July 16.

“He’s telling me we have got some strong candidates and he did want to pick up a couple of more,” Larkin said.

“When it’s down to the wire, some people drop out for various reasons, so he wanted to make sure we have a good group of candidates.”

Larkin told fellow councilors Monday the consulting firm received seven applications last week and Baenziger anticipates closing the application process this week.

Baenziger and his staff previously indicated they’ll vet as many as of 12 candidates before providing eight to 10 resumes to city councilors to review prior to an Aug. 26 meeting to rank the top three or four candidates.

Deputy Mayor Tom Ferrell and councilor Brandon Janisse said previously they would not be able to attend because of travel and work commitments; Ferrell asked again on Monday to move the meeting with no success.

Finalists would travel to Sequim on Sept. 8-10 for interviews and panels, with expenses paid for by the city.

Larkin said in an interview that during the Aug. 26 meeting each councilor will provide their top candidates and that Ferrell and Janisse’s picks will help with the rankings for choosing finalists.

Community panel

Councilors agreed Monday to add a community panel whose members would interview candidates. The panel includes a representative from the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce, North Olympic Peninsula Builders Association, Sequim School District, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and the Clallam County Economic Development Council.

The panel on Sept. 10 would be in addition to those featuring city councilors and city staff.

Several councilors called the panel idea “excellent.”

Larkin said he anticipates having representatives for the panel identified by the next city council meeting on July 26.

Recruitment for a new city manager went live on June 4 with council’s approval. It follows a vote by a majority of city councilors to call for former city manager Charlie Bush’s resignation in January over “philosophical differences,” as stated in a city press release.

Bush was hired in 2015 and brought in by Baenziger’s firm.

For more information about the city’s job listing, visit cb-asso.com.