The City of Golden has announced four finalists for its city manager, including interim City Manager Carly Lorentz.

City Council will conduct final interviews later this month, the city staff confirmed in a June 7 press release. There will be two public events with the finalists June 27-28.

The four finalists are:

• Heather Balser, Greeley's interim chief resiliency officer and the former city manager of Louisville, Colorado.
• Larry Dorr, Westminster's deputy city manager and chief financial officer, and Lakewood's former finance director.
• Lorentz, Golden's deputy city manager who's now stepped in as the interim city manager. She also previously served as Wheat Ridge's assistant to the city manager.
• Scott Vargo, the current county manager for Summit County, who also has a background in health care, manufacturing and the public sector.

The city originally announced a fifth finalist, Jennifer Phillips who formerly managed municipalities in California and Washington. However, on June 8, city staff confirmed Phillips had withdrawn.

Full biographies of each finalist is available at www.guidinggolden.com.

On June 27, the city will host a finalist meet-and-greet from 6:30-8 p.m. at the community center. The event will include statements and questions for each of the five finalists.

Then, on June 28, the Golden Chamber of Commerce will host a separate business-focused event with the finalists from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at City Hall. The public is invited to attend either or both events.

The city manager is the City of Golden's chief executive who's responsible for the day-to-day operations and overseeing city staff, operations, programs and services. The city manager reports directly to City Council.

The new city manager will replace Jason Slowinski, who left Golden after seven years to join Colorado School of Mines. The City of Golden received 85 initial applicants, which the executive recruiter narrowed down to 20 semifinalists based on city officials and community stakeholders' input.