GARDINER — City officials have settled on a finalist to become the next city manager, and he is expected in the city Monday for a meet and greet with the public.

Robert Peabody, finalist to become Gardiner’s next city manager following the departure of Andrew Carlton from the job in August, is scheduled to be at Gardiner Public Library Monday from 6-7 p.m., and Mayor Patricia Hart and the City Council are inviting members of the public to meet him then. The library is located at 152 Water St.

Peabody was town manager in Bridgton from 2014 until this year, leaving the job after the Bridgton Select Board did not renew his contract. Before that, he was town manager in Rockport from 2004-13. Peabody, according to Gardiner officials, has years of experience working in municipalities in various positions and has also served as an elected official. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine.

Hart said city councilors, with input from department heads, narrowed a field of three candidates with the relevant qualifications for the job down to Peabody, who she described as very well qualified and highly experienced as a city and town manager.

Hart said the finalist candidate meeting with the public is the last step in the process before deciding whether to make a job offer to Peabody.

“Council views this as an important step in the hiring process,” Hart said of Peabody’s planned visit Monday. “We want the public to meet the candidate and have an opportunity to ask questions. This is an important position in the city and we would like community input.”

Carlton, hired in April of 2022, left the city manager’s job in Gardiner to become special education director for Waterville Public Schools. His salary as Gardiner city manager was $121,900 a year.

Denise Brown, the city’s director of finance, is serving as interim city manager until a new manager is hired.

Consultant Don Gerrish of Eaton Peabody Consulting Group was hired to manage the search process.