2 additional candidates interviewed for SLT city manager

By Kathryn Reed

Four members of the South Lake Tahoe City Council met from 11:15am-2pm on Sunday in closed session to interview two candidates for city manager.

No action was taken.

This came exactly one week after the elected officials interviewed two other men for the position. It is not known if the other candidates are out of the running or if the council was feeling the heat of public opinion for only interviewing two people for such a key position.

Councilman Bill Crawford did not attend either session.

It is not known if or when these two candidates would be interviewed by the public and two employee panels the other two faced. With the July 4 weekend days away and next week a short week, timing could be an issue.

As time draws on, the clock is ticking to find someone for the city’s top job before City Manager Dave Jinkens is expected to leave Aug. 7. Jinkens has told some city employees he would be willing to stay on longer.

One of Crawford’s issues from the get-go was that a process should be put in place for an interim city manager in case someone was not hired before Jinkens’ eight-year tenure came to an end. He also wanted the next council — three positions are up this November — to choose the next city manager. Crawford also took issue with only two people being interviewed. There was no evidence before last week’s interviews that more people would be brought in.

Without the public involved in the process to-date with the latest candidates, it’s unknown if different questions were asked of the latest candidates in light of the El Dorado County Grand Jury report coming out last week.