City of Punta Gorda starts the search for a new city manager

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — The City of Punta Gorda will begin looking for a new city manager, after the former city manager resigned in November.

At Thursday’s meeting, city council decided to put out a request for bids for a hiring agency to start looking for potential candidates.

“This is a full spectrum position, so they need to know a little bit about everything across the city, utilities, department of public works, finance, the whole gamut,” Vice Mayor Greg Julian told Fox 4. “And we want somebody that has got a lot of experience with that.”

According to the city, it should take about 100 days to find and hire a candidate once a hiring agency is contracted. Julian said the council wants to hire someone who will keep the role for up to a decade.

He said council will carefully vet the candidates, and he expects the process to take about six months.

“This is the most important decision that we are going to make as this new council,” said Julian.

Punta Gorda Police Department.

Former City Manager Greg Murray resigned in November, just days after a 20-week severance package worth more than $75,000 was approved by three outgoing council members. Assistant City Manager Melissa Reichert has filled the role in the interim.

“We were happy to accept the previous city manager's resignation because we knew we had somebody to fill the gap in the meantime,” said Julian.

Prior to resigning, in August, Murray was removed from a downtown bar by the police after employees reported a disorderly person refusing to leave. Murray told Fox 4 that the incident was the result of a medical episode.