Assistant City Manager Opening Attracts Hundreds

Applicants flock to become Assistant City Manager in Cathedral City

CATHEDRAL CITY — Word has spread that this city is a great place to live, work and play.  One telltale sign is that the city received more than 200 applications for the newly created city manager position.

Approximately 20 applicants went through a first phase of the interview process, Communications Manager Chris Parman told Uken Report.  That process created seven finalists who were interviewed in a second round.

“Today, a third and final round of a smaller number of finalists are being interviewed and the city manager hopes to make a conditional offer to one of the applicants by the end of the week,” Parman said.  “No names of the finalists are available to the public at this time.”

The City Council approved the new position in April. Filling it is one of the Council’s goals for 2021.

The Council approved spending $25,000 to hire Bob Murray and Associates to oversee the recruitment process.

The annual salary range for the Assistant City Manager is $182,557.04 – $238,961.18, according to a job description Bob Murray and Associates posted. Placement within this salary range is dependent upon qualifications and experience. The City also offers an attractive benefits package including: Merit Increase — 5% merit increase may occur every 12 months until step 5 has been reached; thereafter, every 2 years for a total of 3 additional 2.5% increases.

Cathedral City, the second-largest community in Coachella Valley with a population of more than 55,000 people, does not currently have an assistant city manager. Palm Springs, with a population of abut 47,000 people, has both a city manager and an assistant city manager.