Bartlesville has an interim city manager but the bigger decision is ahead

Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post
Aug. 13, 2026

The Bartlesville City Council put Assistant City Manager Laura Sanders firmly at the helm Wednesday while beginning to wrestle with a bigger question facing City Hall: Who should lead Bartlesville next?

At a special meeting, councilors voted unanimously to appoint Sanders interim city manager, giving her the authority to exercise the powers and duties of the city manager while the council searches for a permanent replacement.

Interim City Manager Laura Sanders speaks during a special Bartlesville City Council meeting on Aug. 12, 2026, when councilors unanimously appointed her interim city manager.
Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post

Sanders had served as acting city manager since Mike Bailey resigned last week after eight years in the position. The city has not provided a reason for his resignation. In his resignation letter, Bailey said that "after considerable reflection" he had decided to pursue opportunities outside the city of Bartlesville.

Wednesday's vote formalized Sanders' role as the council turned its attention to finding a permanent city manager — a process complicated by the November city election

"It is a pleasure and an honor to be able to serve the City of Bartlesville," Sanders told the council. "I have really enjoyed and grown into my assistant city manager role, and I am happy to be able to serve in this interim basis and lead the ship in the interim."

Councilors then began debating how broadly to search, whether to prioritize internal candidates and, potentially most consequentially, whether the current council or the one seated after the November election should make the final choice.

Council looks inside City Hall first

Sanders, who spent much of her career with the city in human resources, outlined how Bartlesville has approached high-level vacancies in the past.

"The first thing that typically we would do as well is look at the job description and ensure that the job description is up to date," Sanders said.

That will be the council's first step.

The Bartlesville City Council meets Aug. 12, 2026, when councilors unanimously agreed to begin the search for a permanent city manager with internal candidates.
Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post

Councilors directed Sanders to update the city manager job description and circulate it for review before bringing it back for consideration in September.

Once that document is approved, Vice Mayor Trevor Dorsey said his preference is to give existing city employees the first opportunity to apply.

"I personally believe, being involved with council for quite some time, we have a lot of really good internal candidates," Dorsey said.

All council members supported beginning the search internally.

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The approach would follow a path Bartlesville has taken before. During the discussion, Mayor Jim Curd noted that several previous city managers came from within the organization.

Sanders said the city considers several factors when deciding whether to begin a search internally, including employee morale, workplace culture and whether qualified candidates already work for the organization.

"If the culture is good and we have good internal candidates, then we start there," Sanders said.

How many candidates are enough?

Councilors did not settle every detail Wednesday.

One question was whether the council should require a minimum number of candidates before making a decision.

Councilor Tim Sherrick suggested that if only one or two employees apply, the city could broaden the search to ensure councilors have enough candidates to compare.

"I would kind of like to see a minimum number of candidates set so that if we only had two from the inside, we could open it up externally and get two or three more," Sherrick said.

Councilor Tim Sherrick discusses the city manager search during a special Bartlesville City Council meeting Aug. 12, 2026, saying the next council should make the permanent appointment.
Andy Dossett | The Wiley Post

Councilor Aaron Kirkpatrick said he also would like to see five or six candidates.

Sanders said applications would first be screened to determine whether candidates meet the minimum qualifications. Council members would then be able to review the applications and determine who they want to interview.

Sander said HR could administer the process to keep Sanders separated from hiring decisions if she becomes a candidate.

No announcement was made Wednesday about whether Sanders intends to apply.

Election raises question about timing

The November election complicated the discussion over how quickly the council should select a permanent manager.

Sherrick argued the final appointment should be left to the next council after the November election.

"Given the uncertainty of the upcoming election, I believe that the appointment of the next city manager should belong to the next council when they're seated, and not to us," Sherrick said.

Curd pushed back against allowing the election calendar to dictate the search.

"I'm not going to let politics get in the way of the right candidate," Curd said, adding that if the council finds the right person internally, it should have the ability to move forward.

No final timetable for hiring a permanent manager was established Wednesday.

An internal search could move considerably faster than a nationwide or external search. Sanders told councilors an outside search would likely require hiring a recruitment firm and posting the position for at least 30 days.

Sanders estimated an outside search firm would cost at least $30,000.

The city could also advertise the position through government and municipal job networks without immediately hiring a search firm.

Sanders takes over during transition

For now, Sanders will lead city operations while councilors work through one of their most consequential personnel decisions.

Sanders will prepare an updated job description for consideration in September, when the council also is expected to decide how and where to advertise the opening.

Still unresolved is the bigger question that emerged Wednesday: how widely Bartlesville will search — and whether the current council or the one seated after the November election will choose the city's next manager.