Portales makes 'conditional offer' for manager

Portales City Council members, in a “special council meeting” last Saturday unanimously voted to make a “conditional offer” for Christopher Moyer to be the city’s next manager.

Council members voted 8-0 for the city human resources department to begin background checks on Moyer, who was one of 37 applicants for the job.

The position became open after the Council fired Sarah Austin “without cause” in April.

A recording of Saturday’s special meeting was posted on the city’s YouTube channel.

Interim City Manager T.J. Cathey said he had no information beyond the video from the YouTube meeting.

It wasn’t immediately clear how long it might take for the background checks to be completed, but Council members in a regularly called meeting on July 30 voted to extend Cathey’s interim status until Aug. 31. That motion also stated Cathey would stay on to counsel the new city manager should one be hired before Cathey’s extension expires.

Moyer is identified as a “Portales field service technician” in records the city released to The Eastern New Mexico News last month in response to a public information request.