The Worcester city council is about to undertake one of its most important responsibilities: choosing a new chief executive for the City of Worcester. Worcester’s Home Rule Charter provides for the City Manager to serve as the City’s chief executive officer. This means that he or she has the responsibility to administer all the affairs of the City, including execution of the General Laws and the ordinances of the city council, tending to all the City’s financial needs, managing the city•s day-to-day operations, and planning for its future. Given the powers delegated to the City Manager by the Charter, the city Council, with community consensus, should be prepared to hire an individual with strong executive and managerial skills who can lead the city ably for the next five to ten years.

In order to attract a qualified individual to be the city’s CEO, the city Council should consider retaining an executive recruitment firm to conduct a nationwide search. In addition to standard interviews, the selection process should include an assessment center, through which finalists for the position participate in exercises resembling the duties of a city manager, and/or a field assessment whereby members of the search firm-and City Council visit the candidate’s community and observe him in the performance of his duties in his present office. The city Council should be prepared to pay the successful candidate at least $115,000 plus benefits.