West Carrollton city manager search down to 5 candidates

The five finalists for the West Carrollton city manager job include:

One will be announced this week and start at the position Dec. 17, following city council’s vote next Tuesday, officials said.

Cahall also is executive director of Middletown Port Authority. Prior to serving as assistant city manager from April 2022 until now, he was Middletown’s director of finance from Nov 2021 to April 2022. From July 2018 to November 2022, he served as village administrator of the Village of Plain City.

Cahall served as Centerville’s economic development administrator from May 2008 to May 2018 and was acting city manager in July 2017.

He also was Huber Heights’ development director/city planner from July 2006 to May 2008 and Beavercreek’s Planning and Zoning Department associate city planner from June 2005 to July 2006.

Holloway, who has served as Vandalia’s assistant city manager since January 2018, previously served as Vandalia’s city planner from March 2015 to January 2018. Prior to that she was planner for the Corradino Group from March 2014 to March 2015.

Kuntz, who has been Clayton’s director of development since March 2016, served as Harrison Township development director from January 2011 to March 2016.

He previously served as that township’s assistant development director from April 2007 to December 2010, its code enforcement officer from June 2000 to June 2002 and Washington Twp.’s zoning inspector from June 2002 to April 2007

Lynch has been with Muny Grants, which specializes in grants for local governments and private corporation grants, since 2022. He previously served as Newton Falls city manager from 2018 to 2021, as a corporate municipal economic development consultant guiding projects in Collier County, Florida, from 2009 to 2017 and as a political commentator on Channel 3 NBC News and Fox 8 from 1997 to 2008.

Lynch also was law director for the city of Westlake from 1997 to 2002, mayor of the city of Euclid from 1988 to 1995, a Euclid councilman from 1985 to 1987 and Cleveland’s assistant prosecuting attorney/assistant law director from 1982 to 1984.

Smiddy, who has served as Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action CFO since August 2022, previously served as the city of Montgomery’s finance director from April 2016 to August 2022, MetroParks of Butler County’s supervisor of financial services from April 2015 to April 2016 and Butler County Water and Sewer’s accounting manager from July 1998 to April 2015.

The five candidates are vying to replace Brad Townsend, who has served as West Carrollton City Manager since 2007. Townsend is set to step down at the end of this year after spending more than a third of his 41-year public service career on the city’s revitalization efforts.

He launched his career in his hometown of Mt. Zion, Illinois at 19 years old, going from director of Parks and Recreation (1982-1985) to administrative assistant (1985-1987) and village administrator (1987-1990). Townsend also served as Springboro’s assistant city manager from 1990 to 1996 and Carlisle’s city manager from 1996 to 2007.

West Carrollton contracted with Management Advisory Group LLC in June to have the firm search for Townsend’s replacement.