Search for new Cleveland City Manager narrowed to 5 applicants

Former City Manager Janice Casteel listens at a Cleveland City Council meeting in this file photo. Cleveland is searching for Casteel's replacement.
Former City Manager Janice Casteel listens at a Cleveland City Council meeting in this file photo. Cleveland is searching for Casteel's replacement.

Out of 63 applicants, 5 people were selected by a citizens advisory committee to be sent to the Cleveland City Council for consideration as the next Cleveland city manager- Angie Carrier, Joe Fivas, Mark Reeter, Seth Sumner and Julie Underwood.

In February the City Council contracted with The Mercer Group to guide the search for a replacement for Janice Casteel who has been serving as the city manager since July 2007. Casteel announced her retirement after a 42-year career, effective May 31.

The Mercer Group consulted with a citizens committee which was appointed by the City Council and the Municipal Technical Advisory Service of the University of Tennessee in the search process and received 63 applications from several states as well local areas.

Using that list, the committee, with the help of James Mercer and Honna Rogers of MTAS, met weekly to narrow down the list of options until only seven were interviewed by video on Friday and the final 5 were selected for the City Council to review. All of them have experience with city or county leadership.

In alphabetical order, Carrier is currently development services director in Johnson City, Tenn. and has held leadership positions in various other cities in East Tennessee. Fivas has held leadership positions in towns in Mich. and Indian Trail, N.C. Reeter was county administrator in Bedford County, Va. through 2015. Summer is currently assistant city manager in Savannah, Tenn. Underwood is currently assistant city manager in Daly City, Calif.

The search advisory committee included former city manager Joe Cate, Attorney Roger Jenne, Bank of Cleveland CEO Scott Taylor, Erwin Lowe, Beverly Johnson, Donald Humes and retired city police detective Danny Chastain. The committee was facilitated by Larry Wallace who was director the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation from 1992 to 2003.

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