MOHAVE COUNTY – The hunt for the next Mohave County Manager is advancing. Sam Elters aims to retire at the end of January and the deadline for applying for the job passed on November 10.
How many people applied for the position is a question unanswered by Human Resources Director Julianna Demers.
“While specific details cannot be released at this stage of the recruitment process, the applicant pool reflects a broad range of interest,” Demers said in a November 18 email. “Candidates include both internal and external applicants, including a few Mohave County residents, additional applicants from across Arizona, and others from multiple states nationwide with the farthest coming from the East Coast. As we move through the next steps, I will be able to share more.”
Supervisor Don Martin is sharing more already. Martin said 24 people applied for the position.
Martin confirmed that that four county residents applied for the job, while another source indicated the pool includes at least one current county employee.
Martin said he is favorably impressed with the group of two dozen contenders.
“There’s some really highly qualified people for sure, a lot of varied backgrounds and experience.”
Martin said a handful of the applicants indicated whether they were for or against zero-based budgeting, a topic that has been discussed off and on by the current board. Martin said that issue could be important in the selection process, given that supervisors have been divided on the topic.
“I’m on record. I’m not a fan of zero-based budgeting,” Martin said. He said, however, he’s a huge fan of Elters who helped three new board members through their rookie year.
“I’m gonna miss him,” Martin said of Elters. “I have told him that. He literally has been what I would call a mentor.”
Martin said he nominated his top three candidates, but said he did not know if other board members nominated one, two or three, all options under the employed recruitment process.
Demers said a team of elected department heads is reviewing board nominee materials before exercising discretion in determining how many will undergo preliminary interviews December 2-4. Demers said the panel will rank the contenders and present their findings to supervisors before the Board drives the recruitment process to the finish line and a selection decision.
Elters has many times indicated he’ll remain on board if his successor is not on the job by his intended exit date of January 31.
