City Manager Interviews 5-27-26

The City of Bay City, Michigan, conducted a series of city manager candidate interviews on May 27, 2026. The meeting focused exclusively on interviewing four finalists for the city manager position, with each candidate providing a presentation and responding to questions from the city commission. Key topics discussed included strategic leadership, community engagement, budgeting and financial sustainability, infrastructure challenges (notably roads and bridges), housing availability and neighborhood revitalization, labor union relations, and staff recruitment and retention. Candidates emphasized transparency, communication, and collaboration with the commission and community as essential to the role. While no direct procurement decisions or contract awards were made during this meeting, candidates addressed their experience managing municipal budgets, securing grants, and overseeing capital projects, which are relevant to future procurement and financial planning for the city. The commission also provided a public comment mechanism via QR code for community input on the candidates, with feedback to be collected through the following Friday.