Interim City Manager David Corliss responds to readers' questions at ljworld.com. Corliss said Friday during the chat that he would seek to become the permanent city manager.

The official search hasn’t started for Lawrence’s new city manager, but it’s likely that interim City Manager David Corliss will be seeking the job, Corliss told an online audience Friday afternoon.

“I probably will apply for the permanent position,” Corliss wrote during an online chat on the Lawrence Journal-World’s Web site, ljworld.com.

Corliss has been filling the post on an interim basis since last month, when Mike Wildgen resigned under pressure from the Lawrence City Commission.

Corliss, who joined the city in 1990 as a management analyst and worked his way up to assistant city manager by 2000, said there were pros and cons for the city to hire from within.

“Someone new to the community and organization can bring a new, fresh perspective to issues; someone already familiar with those issues brings that experience,” he wrote. “Someone who has local experience who can integrate new ideas and innovations can perhaps do both.”

On Tuesday the City Commission will begin the process of hiring an executive search firm to help recruit city manager candidates.

“I’m going to hold off on a decision on that until the commission has decided exactly what the goals are for that position,” Corliss said after the chat. “I’m interested in that position. But my focus right now is on the commission’s priorities and goals of trying to get what they want accomplished as quickly and as efficiently as we can.”

Commissioner Boog Highberger said Friday afternoon that he hoped a search firm would begin the process no later than May 2.

“I think Dave will get the same consideration as all the other applicants, if he applies,” Highberger said.

Highberger said once the search firm was chosen, the process would go fairly quickly.

“We want as wide of a pool of qualified applicants as we can have, I think,” Highberger said.

“It’s not a surprise,” said Mayor Mike Amyx of Corliss’ interest in the city manager’s job.

“I had always assumed that David would apply,” Amyx said. “But still, it’s going to be a nationwide search.”

There isn’t a definite timetable set up for picking a new city manager, Amyx said.

“But I believe that we can have somebody picked in maybe less than a six-month period,” Amyx said. “That would be my goal.”