The Lawrence City Commission has named three finalists for the job of city manager, and it’s time for local residents to get acquainted with the candidates and involved in the selection process.

The three finalists are scheduled to visit Lawrence on Dec. 17 and 18. In addition to touring city facilities and meeting with city staff, the candidates will meet with the public at a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 17 at the Carnegie Building. Those who attend the reception presumably will have an opportunity to offer feedback on their impressions of the candidates.

A total of 54 people applied for the Lawrence city manager job. After interviewing eight candidates, city commissioners selected the finalists: Rod Bremby, a former Lawrence assistant city manager who now serves as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Social Services; Cheryl Harrison-Lee, the current city administrator for Gardner; and Tom Markus, the city manager of Iowa City.

City commissioners said they were impressed with the qualifications of the candidates who applied for the job, and the three finalists all have solid experience and qualifications for the Lawrence job.

Bremby is a familiar face in Lawrence, having worked in City Hall from 1990-2000. He was an assistant research professor at Kansas University before being appointed secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, a position he held from 2003 to 2010. He was appointed to his current post in Connecticut in April 2011.

Harrison-Lee has worked in municipal government since 1984, mostly in Florida, and has been in nearby Gardner since 2012. She told the Journal-World that when she came to Gardner, the city “was very divided and really needed a vision” and indicated she had helped the city redo its comprehensive plan and create a new economic development plan and incentive policy.

Markus served as city manager of Birmingham, Minn., for 21 years before taking the manager’s job in Iowa City in 2010. Iowa City is a little smaller than Lawrence but also is home to a state university, the University of Iowa. In an email to the Journal-World, he talked about the “community energy created by the university” and noted, “There is never a shortage of opinion, which helps shape the discussion and ultimately improve the decision.” His description of Iowa City sounds a lot like Lawrence.

As noted in this space before, the hiring of a new city manager likely is the most important task the current City Commission will handle. After the initial screening process, commissioners now have an opportunity to get to know the candidates better and gather input from local residents. Commissioners should seek out the community’s expertise and welcome the community’s input as it seeks to fill this important leadership job.