Rehoboth narrows city manager search

Rehoboth Beach officials are looking for a new city manager, and of the 100 applications they received, they have settled on three to five candidates they will interview.

Speaking at the commissioners’ Oct. 18 regular meeting, Mayor Sam Cooper said candidates would be interviewed Friday, Nov. 8, and Saturday, Nov. 9.

Commissioner Patrick Gossett, chairman of the city’s personnel committee, said the two-day interviews would begin with a tour of the city, followed by candidate meetings with department heads. He said Nov. 9 would be devoted to individual interviews with the commissioners.

Once interviews have concluded, Gossett said, it is the commissioners’ intention to decide on a candidate and make an offer. The salary range is $90,000 to $110,000 per year; current City Manager Greg Ferrese’s salary is $95,000 per year.

While city officials have planned to have a new city manager in place by the time Ferrese retires on Thursday, Dec. 6, Gossett said when a successor comes in will be dependent on how much notice the candidate must give the current employer. He said the commissioners want to make sure a deal is done before announcing a new city manager.

With more than 100 applicants, Gossett said the job was appealing because of Rehoboth's beach location, reputation and the city’s strong financial standing. Although he could not say where the candidates were coming from for confidentiality reasons, Gossett said some of the candidates were from the Mid-Atlantic region, with a few from places beyond that.