The Lawrence City Commission is not likely to name a new city manager in November, the target originally set when the search began in August.

At its Oct. 13 meeting, the commission decided to interview eight of the 32 qualified applicants for the position. Those interviews will be held over the next several weeks, said Mayor Mike Amyx, the commission’s point-person in the search.

He said it’s “still early” to know when the next city manager will be selected.

“I would love to say it’s going to happen in November,” Amyx said Monday. “But right now with the consultant trying to schedule all the interviews, that will take quite a bit of time. It may take all of November to get through.”

City officials said in early August that they hoped to make a decision by late October and have a new city manager in place by late November. One week after that announcement, former Mayor Jeremy Farmer resigned amid allegations of financial misconduct at Just Food, a local food bank he directed.

On Oct. 13 — the date of the first full meeting with commissioner Lisa Larsen, who filled the vacancy left by Farmer — the commission took its first step in narrowing down the candidates.

No information has been released about the eight candidates’ backgrounds or whether any of them have ties to Lawrence.

Greg Nelson, a consultant with executive search firm Ralph Anderson and Associates, which is leading the national search, said confidentiality of the final eight was “very important.”

“If confidentiality is an issue, it causes some candidates, quite frankly, to withdraw,” he told the commission Oct. 13.

Nelson said at the meeting that candidates had an average of 19 years of experience as chief executives. Most hold master’s degrees in public administration and are credentialed managers through the International City/County Management Association.

Amyx said he was not ready to release any more information about them.

After the first round of interviews, a smaller group will be invited to receive a tour of city facilities and meet people at a public open house.

During that visit, city commissioners will again interview the group in executive session, Nelson said.

“Let’s just make sure that the process is as open as it can be. Let’s make sure it’s a good process,” Amyx said. “That’s more important to me than meeting a November deadline.”

The person selected will replace former City Manager David Corliss, who resigned to become the town manager of Castle Rock, Colo. Diane Stoddard has served as interim manager since June 1.

Under Lawrence’s form of government, the elected commission acts as the legislative and policy-setting body. But the city manager is in charge of day-to-day operations of the city, managing the city’s budget and daily expenditures as well as supervising department heads and administrative staff.