Greetings,

In our form of government, the city manager has an absolutely critical role, which includes managing the day-to-day operations of the City, appointing and supervising all City staff, and developing the City’s budget for the mayor and City Council’s consideration and approval. You can think of this position as, roughly speaking, the CEO of the City of Evanston (in this analogy I would function more or less as the Chair of the Board).

Consequently, the decision of whom to hire as city manager has profound consequences for our whole community. As you may know, the Evanston City Council is beginning the recruitment and selection process for Evanston’s next city manager and has contracted with CPS HR Consulting to facilitate this process.

Because of what’s at stake for all of Evanston, we are committed to a community-informed search process. I’d like to invite you to provide your feedback through a community survey and an upcoming town hall meeting. Your input will help identify the unique and important characteristics necessary for this key position, and will help design interview questions and assessment activities that will assist in determining whether candidates possess the attributes our community is looking for in our next city manager.

Community Survey

A community survey is now available online in English and Spanish. Please complete this short, confidential survey by Friday, Nov. 12, and share it with your networks.

Town Hall Meeting, Oct. 30

CPS HR will also host a virtual public meeting via Zoom this Saturday, Oct. 30, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. You can join the meeting by clicking on this virtual meeting link, which is also available at cityofevanston.org/managersearch. No registration is necessary.

At the meeting, CPS HR will ask three questions:

  1. What are the challenges and opportunities you see for the next city manager?
  2. What attributes must the next city manager bring to be successful in Evanston?
  3. What are the special things about Evanston that make it a desirable place to be the city manager?

A chat function will be available for you to provide comments.

What is the timeline for the search?

You can find a detailed timeline for the recruitment and selection process on the City’s website, at cityofevanston.org/managersearch. A brief timeline is below:

  • October – Community and Stakeholder Engagement
  • November – Recruitment and Marketing
  • December/January – Screening, Interviews and Selection
  • January – Negotiation of Offer

How can I stay informed?

For updates on the city manager search process and opportunities to provide your input, visit cityofevanston.org/managersearch or call/text 847-448-4311 or dial 311 in Evanston.

Thank you for your participation in this important process.

Sincerely,Daniel Biss
Mayor, City of Evanston
dbiss@cityofevanston.org