EAST PROVIDENCE — The East Providence City Council has narrowed its field of candidates to fill the City Manager position full time to a group of five, three of whom interviewed with elected officials Tuesday, Aug. 18, at City Hall.

Council President and Mayor Tommy Rose said "the quality of the candidates is very good" after he and his counterparts thoroughly examined the qualifications of applicants for the first time Tuesday.

Mr. Rose said there were actually a group of six candidates of interest to the Council, however one has already taken another job.

"So far I would say the first series of interviews went well," Mr. Rose added. "One of the things I do like about these candidates is that every one of them actually has some type of link to East Providence. They know about the city."

The two remaining candidates to be interviewed will have their moment before the Council on Tuesday, Aug. 25, Mr. Rose said. From there, he added, the Council will digest the information then gather as a group to determine either "two or three" candidates to present to the public.

At the time they are introduced to residents, the candidates will be given the option based on confidentiality concerns to either have their final interviews conducted in public or private.

"We're going to present the final candidates to the public in some way," Mr. Rose said. "Once we narrow it down to the two or three people, with their consent, we'll interview them in public. But we've already had a couple of candidates request we keep things private because of concerns about their current employers."

Mr. Rose said the aim of the search is to have it concluded in time for the fiscal year budget discussions that will begin in earnest in mid-September, which will allow the next full-time manager to be in place for the crux of those talks.

The only person to date who has expressed interest in the position publicly is the current interim City Manager Paul Lemont. He interviewed with the Council on August 18.

"We're trying to shoot for having the person here when we talk about the budget so they can be involved in the process," Mr. Rose. "I want to make something clear. We're not pushing Paul out the door. But if he doesn't get the job, we just want someone in place so they get to know what's going on."