After three of five candidates for the position of city clerk withdrew their applications, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy extended the deadline for applicants to Aug. 1.
Rebecca Haynes, Keri Miller and Kathleen Sotero withdrew their applications, leaving Janet “Jamie” Anderson and Leanne Addy remaining.
“I’m not comfortable, having just interviewed two people, making a recommendation,” Murphy said. “So what I did was I went back and expanded the scope of the job description to make it more inclusive,” he said.
New advertisements for the position were posted on the city website, “and various other websites that are frequented by city clerks,” Murphy said.
“I would hope that by no later than mid-August, I’ll have a candidate for you to vet, look at and vote upon,” he said to the commission.
Anderson interviewed July 14 for the position and Addy interviewed July 20.
Current city clerk Diane Percycoe is set to retire Sept. 30 and the mayor hopes to hire a clerk to be trained by Percycoe before she leaves the job.
Once the mayor completes interviews with all candidates, he is expected to bring his recommendation to the commission, which will then vote on his recommendation.
The position of city clerk pays an annual salary of $55,000-$75,000.
— Bianca Benedí