Cape Girardeau places ad for city manager job

Armed with a nine-page, full-color recruitment brochure, the City of Cape Girardeau is officially advertising for a new city manager.

The city-hired consulting firm GovHR USA of Northbrook, Illinois, has posted the job announcement on its website, govhrusa.com.

Scott Meyer, the current city manager, will retire in June after 12 years and is the longest-serving manager in municipal history.

The position posting notes Cape Girardeau has a council-manager form of government with 498 full-time equivalent employees and a $59 million annual operating budget.

The seven-member City Council, which has the final decision for hiring, is asking for online applications be sent to govhrjobs.com no later than Feb. 28 with an eye toward a decision on hiring in April.

The job ad said the city is looking for applicants with at least seven years of “increasingly responsible managerial experience in local government,” adding a postgraduate degree in public administration or a related field of study is preferred but not required and “the ideal candidate” will have prior experience either as a city manager or city administrator.

The announcement said the starting salary range is $155,000-$165,000 annually, with residency required in the city within six months of the start date.