Durant begins search for a permanent city manager

SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) - Now that Durant has an interim city manager in place, the city is starting to talk about the process of finding a new one.

At Tuesday’s city council meeting, the council discussed some of the different options for searching for a permanent city manager.

After a prolonged discussion, the council decided to start the process of hiring a consulting firm to aid them in their search for a permanent city manager.

Some Durant residents like Amy Hazell are questioning the financial effects of the council’s recent decisions.

“I just find it interesting that our mayor, Martin Tucker, campaigned on being fiscally responsible and (saying) that he was going to balance our budget and now they basically decided to spend at or over $200,000 between firing a perfectly capable city manager and paying her severance,” Hazell said. “Now they’re looking to hire a firm to go out and find a new city manager and it just all seems a little bit silly to me.”

During the meeting, Durant’s city attorney Thomas Marcum estimated that hiring a consulting firm to aid the search could cost anywhere between $70,000 and $100,000.

Durant is searching for a new city manager after voting to fire former city manager Lisa Taylor in June.

Taylor’s termination followed the council’s request for an investigation into her, but no details or findings of the investigation were ever released.

Copyright 2023 KXII. All rights reserved.