Dubuque City Council Special Meeting | Sept. 28, 2026

The Dubuque City Council held a special meeting on September 28, 2026, to kick off the city manager executive recruitment with GMP Consultants, the search firm previously selected by the city. GMP outlined stakeholder engagement, candidate marketing, screening and vetting, finalist interviews, and possible post-selection background checks and employment-agreement negotiations. The proposed schedule included stakeholder meetings in November, marketing after the first of the year, and interviews in February and March; council members asked the firm to pursue a faster schedule where feasible and discussed allowing roughly three weeks of overlap between the outgoing and incoming city managers.

The council and staff will develop a stakeholder list, review and approve the recruitment profile, and bring forward the city manager job description and salary range for council consideration. GMP will provide proposed job-board placements and associated costs for approval before advertising begins; no specific costs or new procurement award were approved at this meeting. The council voted 7–0 to receive and file the matter and refer it to council for continued consideration.