Norwich – In their last action of their final meeting, the departing City Council relinquished its control of the search for a new city manager to the incoming aldermen.

The council Monday approved a resolution to add the five new incoming aldermen to the city manager search committee – Republicans Peter Nystrom, Joanne Philbrick, Stacy Gould and Gerald Martin and Democrat H. Tucker Braddock – and specified that no finalist candidates will be interviewed before the new City Council is sworn in on Dec. 1.

And on Dec. 1, the five current members of the City Council, Democrats Francois “Pete” Desaulniers, Terell Wilson, William Eyberse and Mark Bettencourt and Republican Sofee Noblick, will “discontinue serving” on the committee.

Incumbent Republican William Nash was the sole member of the current council re-elected, and Mayor Deberey Hinchey remains on the council in the middle of her four-year term.

Hinchey initiated the changes in the search process after the five Republicans on the ballot swept to victory in the Nov. 3 election. Immediately after the election, Nystrom demanded that the council cancel its previous tight schedule that called for voting on a new city manager appointment on Thanksgiving eve.

The new schedule proposed by Hinchey and announced last week calls for the expanded committee to meet Saturday in an informational session. Search consultant Colin Baenziger & Associates and the city Human Resources Department will review the remaining pool of applicants and narrow it down to a small group of finalists with input from city staff and the search consultant.

On Dec. 19, the search committee – by then just the new council – would interview candidates and “extend a job offer,” Hinchey wrote in the new schedule. The City Council would vote on Jan. 4 to hire a new city manager.

Hinchey said, however, that the incoming council could change that schedule if it wishes.

c.bessette@theday.com

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