The four candidates selected by the Yakima City Council to be included in the finalist pool for the Yakima city manager position will be interviewed next week by a panel of community members, a panel of senior City staff members, and the full Council.
The finalist pool includes current City of Paso Robles, California Public Works Director Dick McKinley, current Broward County, Florida Public Works Director Thomas Hutka, Robert Harrison, who most recently served as the chief administrative officer for the City of Renton, and current City of Yakima Interim City Manager Alex Meyerhoff.
The four finalists will be interviewed via teleconference on Tuesday, July 7th by a panel of seven community members and panel of seven senior City staff members, both of which were chosen by the City Council. The finalist interviews will begin at 10:00 am on July 7th and last about an hour a piece.
On Wednesday, July 8th, the finalists will be interviewed individually via teleconference by the City Council during a special meeting that will begin at 9:00 am in the Council Chambers at Yakima City Hall. The special meeting will be aired live on Y-PAC, Charter Cable channel 194, and live streamed on the City’s website (www.yakimawa.gov).
Before joining the City of Paso Robles as public works director in 2015, McKinley served in the same role in Surprise, Arizona (2013-2014), Tacoma (2009-2013), Bellingham (2001-2009), and Walla Walla (1994-2001). Prior to being hired as Broward County public works director in 2009, Hutka was the city manager of the City of Port Huron, Michigan (2001-2006), and served as the deputy county manager for Osceola County, Florida (1997-2001). Harrison was Renton’s chief administrative officer from 2018 until May of this year. Before that, he was the city administrator in Issaquah (2010-2018), city manager in Wyoming Ohio, (1998-2010) city administrator/clerk/treasurer in Mosinee, Wisconsin (1996-1998), and assistant to the city administrator in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin (1995-1996). Meyerhoff was hired as Yakima’s interim city manager in October 2019. He served as city manager/executive director for the City of San Fernando, California (2017-2019), city manager/executive director for the City of Hemet, California (2016-2017), city manager/executive director for the City of Holtville, California (2011-2014), and director of planning and economic development for a private architectural firm in Palm Springs, California (2008-2011).
In April of this year, the City Council approved a competitive process to find a replacement for Cliff Moore, who served as Yakima city manager from July 2016 through August 2019. From a total of 39 applicants, the City’s Human Resources staff presented the Council with a pool of 13 semi-finalists. During a June 22nd special meeting, the City Council reviewed the semi-finalist pool and selected four finalists.
