North Miami council picks finalists for city manager position

North Miami’s city council has narrowed down their pool of more than 60 applicants to a field of 11 finalists.

In a memo from personnel director Joe Roglieri, four of the five council members gave their optional recommendations for the top candidates, based on a plan approved at the Jan. 12 council meeting. Council members were permitted to pick up to four candidates for interviews.

The position has been filled on an interim basis by Arthur Sorey since October when the then-City Manager Aleem Ghany resigned. Sorey is also among the finalists selected by the city council.

The next manager will be the fourth person to hold the position since 2011. Before Ghany, the position was held by former North Miami Police Chief Stephen Johnson, who left to lead the Miami Gardens police department. Johnson was fired in February 2015 following his arrest in a prostitution sting. Russell Benford held the position before Johnson, and left to become Miami-Dade County deputy mayor.

The selections from each council member, excluding Councilman Philippe Bien-Aime who chose not to participate, were:

▪ Sorey, the interim city manager, and the city’s finance director, Larry Spring.

Spring previously served as the chief financial officer for the city of Miami and left that position for the private sector in the midst of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of the city and a large budget deficit. Spring never faced any charges after the SEC investigation.

▪ Magalie Austin, chief diversity and industry relations officer for the New York City Department of Design and chair of Haitian-Americans for Progress.

▪ Timothy Boland, city manager for the city of Steubenville, Ohio.

▪ Louie Chapman, former Delray Beach city manager.

▪ James Jackson, former public works director and deputy chief administrative officer for the city of Richmond, Virginia.

▪ Jimmie Johnson, director of the city of Port Arthur, Texas.

▪ Deryl Richardson, associate director of the freedom of information act and transparency for the U.S. Treasury Department.

▪ David Scott , Delray Beach assistant city manager.

▪ Christopher Steers, village manager for the village of Port Chester, New York.

▪ Marie Woodson, assistant department director for Miami-Dade Community Action and Human Services Department.

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "North Miami council picks finalists for city manager position."