Several local officials among 23 seeking Oakwood city manager job

Oakwood Mayor Bill Duncan said he was a bit surprised by the amount of interest in the job, given recent local trends.

“I actually did not think we would get that many. There’s been sort of a shortage in some of the other searches around” the area for similar jobs, Duncan said. “But I also think that we have a diverse group of candidates.”

The applicants to succeed Norbert Klopsch, who is retiring in November, include at least 15 with Ohio ties, Oakwood documents show.

Several current or former public administrators in Butler and Hamilton counties also applied for the job before Friday’s deadline, according to city records.

Oakwood City Council members met Monday in executive session to review the applicants. They will convene again next Monday to evaluate candidates further, Duncan said.

“I think our plans are to try to see if we can get a consensus of people (who) we would like to interview,” Duncan said. “And that number hasn’t been determined.”

Council may opt to trim the list to fewer than 10 and schedule interviews in August before narrowing the finalists to 3-5 candidates, he said.

Oakwood’s council has retained the Management Advisory Group, LLC to help guide the process in picking a replacement for Klopsch. He has been with the city for 32 years, 22 of them as its top administrator.

Among other qualities, the ideal candidate will “develop a strong appreciation of the community’s history, traditions, and uniqueness while embracing a creative and innovative approach to continued improvement,” according to the candidate profile.

The city is also looking for “a fiscal conservative and an excellent steward of taxpayer dollars while recognizing and creating opportunities to leverage public and private sector partnerships,” the profile states.

The job has a starting salary range of $150,000-$180,000, city records show.

The Management Advisory Group has outlined a schedule that would involve interviewing candidates, with council making a selection to give its choice time to work with Klopsch before he steps down, Duncan said.

The hiring consultant has former Centerville City Manager Greg Horn on its team for this search, according to Oakwood records. The team will also include former Oakwood administrator Marc Thompson, a former Huber Heights city manager, documents show.