The City of Bloomington could know more this weekend about whether City Manager David Hales will be leaving for a new job in Topeka, Kansas.
The Topeka governing body will meet Friday to discuss the five finalists for the city manager position, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Those finalists, including Hales, were in Topeka last weekend to meet with local officials and the public.
Other than Hales, the list of finalists includes Topeka's interim city manager, Doug Gerber.
If Hales does not get the position, the Bloomington City Council is likely to tackle his future sometime this fall, Mayor Tari Renner told GLT this week. Aldermen would have to decide whether to seek another contract extension with Hales or begin a search for a new city manager, which can take months, Renner said.
Hales current contract expires in July 2018. Hales has applied for at least two city manager positions in 2017: Racine, Wisconsin, and Topeka.
"He did have a contract that was renewed by the (Bloomington) City Council for a year and a half, and it's not unusual for city managers to look for other jobs," Renner said during GLT's Sound Ideas. "You come in for four, five or six (years). Seven years is kind of a usual outer limit. Mr. Hales has been here for over eight years.
"It's not unusual for city managers to look for a new set of tasks or a new set of challenges," he added.
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