In a special meeting on Tuesday , the Cortez City Council scheduled interviews and a public meet-and-greet for the candidates competing for city manager.

Five people, only four of whose names have been released, have been chosen as finalists for the position left vacant by Shane Hale. They are set to spend Monday and Tuesday in Cortez, participating in interviews with a professional hiring panel and the City Council. The city has also scheduled an opportunity for Cortez residents to meet the candidates at City Hall from 5-7 p.m. on Monday.

John Dougherty of Arizona, Timothy Dodge of New Mexico, Mark Campbell of Colorado and Cortez Public Works Director Phil Johnson are among the finalists. Human Resources Director Matt Cashner declined to reveal the fifth finalist, saying the man doesn’t want to publicly announce his candidacy until he meets with his current city council on Thursday.

During the meeting, City Council members and interim manager Chris Burkett hashed out a busy schedule for the candidates’ two-day visit. On Monday, each candidate will spend an hour interviewing with the professional panel. When they’re not in interviews, all the candidates, including Johnson, will be taken on tours of the city.

“The thought was that maybe it would be best to treat him the same as everyone else,” Mayor Karen Sheek said.

They also will set aside time to meet with city employees and department heads before the public open house.

During the open house, each candidate will get up to five minutes to introduce themselves to city residents, followed by an open discussion period. Attendees will be able to offer feedback on the candidates by writing on comment cards.

Tuesday will be taken up with council interviews, starting at 8:30 a.m. Those interviews will also be open to the public.

Burkett and Cashner plan to put together a list of 12 to 15 questions for the City Council to ask each candidate. On Tuesday, several council members offered suggestions about what those questions should look like.

Sheek said it’s important for a city manager to have a long-term vision for his town, so she suggested the council ask for examples of each candidate doing something “visionary” in their previous positions. Councilwoman Jill Carlson said she wanted to ask for the candidates’ ideas on how to engage young people in city politics. Because of the relatively high turnover rate in the city manager position, councilman Ty Keel suggested asking how long each candidate plans to stay in Cortez.

Cashner said he would also include questions on budgeting and other basic elements of city government.

The council plans to hire a new city manager by the end of June.