CRESTVIEW — The city is coming closer to hiring its first-ever city manager.
Crestview City Council members have whittled the field of city manager applicants to five finalists, according to Mayor David Cadle.
The first of two video interview sessions is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday. The five finalists will be interviewed individually via Skype, and each interview will be posted on the city's website (cityofcrestview.org).
A second video interview session via Skype is scheduled from 5:30-7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, in the council chambers. The public may attend.
After the video interviews, Cadle said two to three finalists will be invited to Crestview for face-to-face interviews.
Cadle said only one of the finalists is from Okaloosa County.
Voters on Aug. 28 approved amendments to repeal and update the city charter to a council-manager form of government instead of a council-mayor form. The change to a council-manager government shifted the day-to-day operations of the city to one person's responsibility instead of five, with city department heads answering to the city manager.
The move is supposed to free up the city's mayor and council to focus more on representing their citizens.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City manager pool down to five finalists