Acting City Manager Kimberly Tolbert was selected by the City Council Wednesday to take command of the permanent position.
Tolbert will assume the job at $450,000 per annum after being approved by the Council 13-2, with Cara Mendelsohn (District 12) and Paul Ridley (District 14) opposing.
She had long been considered a shoo-in for the job and fended off two lesser candidates.
Despite the ease of her approval, council members deliberated on her candidacy for over three hours in an executive session.
Council member Chad West admitted the process was “contentious” at times.
-Tolbert had been serving as the interim city manager since May 2024, when predecessor TC Broadnax departed for the same job in Austin. Tolbert also previously served as deputy city manager and chief of staff to the city manager.
“We should have hired Mrs. Kim Tolbert last June,” Carolyn King Arnold, who represents District 4, said in the lead-up to the vote.
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