It could be weeks before names of Steamboat city manager finalists are released

From Steamboat Today (Steamboat Springs): The Steamboat Springs City Council on Tuesday selected six city manager finalists following an hour-long executive session.

But a representative from the search firm the city is paying to recruit the next manager said it could be weeks before he will allow the public to get to know the finalists beyond their designations as candidates No. 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9.

Steamboat Today was anticipating a much shorter time frame.

Under the Colorado Open Records Act, the city is only able to keep the names of city manager applicants confidential until they are deemed finalists.

The law states that “finalist” means “an applicant or candidate for an executive position as the chief executive officer of a state agency, institution, or political subdivision or agency thereof who is a member of the final group of applicants or candidates made public …”

Anne Small, the city’s director of general services, said it was her understanding that, not only do the candidates have to accept the status of finalist before their names can be released, but they also have to undergo background checks before becoming finalists.

The law does not mention background checks as a requirement for being a finalist.

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