GARDINER — For the second time in a year, city officials on Wednesday began a search for a new top administrator.

City Council members agreed to allow Interim City Manager Denise Brown — who is in her second interim stint in eight months — to conduct the search and collect submitted resumes for council review. Councilors chose not to spend about $10,000 to hire an outside firm, like they had done for recent city manager searches.

“I would prefer not to spend $10,000 to do something that we’re quite capable of doing,” Brown said.

Former City Manager Robert Peabody resigned in June, after four months on the job, saying in his resignation letter that it was “in the best interest of the City and for myself” to leave.

Peabody submitted his resignation letter during a June 4 executive session, where City Council members were expected to deliberate on his initial performance review.

His resignation was sudden and unexpected, but not contentious, Mayor Patricia Hart said at the time. Having not taken a new job in more than a decade, Hart said Peabody felt he was simply not the right fit for the position.

Several councilors said they wanted to amend the job description and posting to reflect the city manager’s role as a “working” manager, and final edits are expected to be made in the coming week before the job posting goes live, likely in August. Brown said it was important for the council to establish that the city manager role is not simply a “figurehead” position.

“I also do think it’s important as part of the interview process that they are doing ride-alongs, they’re walking down Main Street, going into businesses,” District 2 Councilor Veronica Babcock said. “I don’t know if that happened the last time or it happened the time before, but they’re going to be expected to know that it’s a working position. They need to see exactly what is happening in the city with our businesses and our staff. I think that has to happen.”

Alex Smith, a Gardiner resident and the owner of the downtown houseplant and lifestyle shop Pistil & Page, said she would like to see more public engagement efforts made by the council during the search. Residents and business owners alike could benefit greatly from a transparent and engaged city manager, she said.

“People are interested and want to engage in this process, knowing that it is really valuable,” she said. “Even from the business perspective, having that interface with the city is super important and felt noticeably lacking.”

Smith also said she would like to see terms included in a new contract to discourage a new city manager from leaving shortly after being hired.

“So you’re suggesting, if and when we enter into a new contract with someone, that we say, ‘We’re giving you some bells and whistles, and if you leave within six months, then you have to pay them back,'” Hart said, clarifying Smith’s proposal.

Before Peabody, Andrew Carleton served in the city manager role for about two years before leaving to join Waterville Public Schools in August 2024. The search for Peabody lasted about three months — the same timeline that Brown, who also serves as the city’s finance director, laid out to City Council members during Wednesday’s meeting.

The most recent search was conducted by Don Gerrish, who worked as a municipal consultant for Eaton Peabody before the firm closed last month. Gardiner has also used the Maine Municipal Association for previous manager searches.

But this time, City Council members decided to keep the search in-house instead of hiring Gerrish and his new firm, Gerrish Municipal Consulting Services, LLC. Initial cost estimates for Gerrish’s services range around $10,000, Brown said.

Brown will collect submitted resumes and maintain confidential records during the search. Several councilors said they were confident that Brown would conduct the search well and comply with confidentiality standards, given her long-term experience as the city’s human resources director.

The city manager application is expected to open before Labor Day, and would be due by late September.