The field of candidates for Bainbridge Island’s next city manager has now been narrowed to three.

Councilman David Ward announced that five candidates were selected to be interviewed by the council at its last meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 5.

According to Councilwoman Anne Blair, however, two candidates have taken themselves out of consideration.

One dropped out for personal reasons and the other took a job elsewhere, Blair said.

City officials have not yet named the candidates.

“We had to be respectful of the fact people need to tell their current employers that they applied for a job and are finalists,” Blair said.

The three finalists will be revealed at the council’s meeting Wednesday, Sept. 12.

The trio will be invited to interview with the council and meet the island community on Sept. 17 and Sept. 18.

Blair said the finalists are a mix of local and out-of-state applicants.

“All of them are very seasoned administrators,” she said.

Strategic Government Resources, a Texas-based executive search firm, has been leading the search for Bainbridge Island’s next city manager.

The firm has provided some detailed information on the candidates already to the city council, including media and online background checks.

The candidates are currently going through a detailed criminal background check.

A filmed interview with each applicant has already been conducted and council members have already taken a peek at them.

Another item the council has yet to view is a project that Strategic Government Resources has assigned to the final candidates. Each were asked to develop a picture of their first year on the job as city manager for Bainbridge Island. Blair hopes to see the projects by the time the council interviews the three applicants next week.

The search team has not yet conducted a site visit to the candidates in their current place of work, which is part of the scope of work in Strategic Government Resource’s contract with the city.

Blair said that along with the announcement of the candidates Wednesday, more information on the finalists should be available on the city’s website.

The city manager’s post is currently vacant after the council fired former city manager Brenda Bauer in March. Morgan Smith has been filling in as interim city manager since Bauer’s departure.

Strategic Government Resources is expected to help the city negotiate an employment agreement with the next city manager once the council makes its pick.