The Sarasota City Commission voted unanimously Friday to extend a conditional employment offer to Karie Friling to serve as the next city manager.
Friling will become the first woman to serve as the city manager.
A news release from the city touted Friling as "a seasoned public sector executive with over 30 years of leadership experience serving communities of varying sizes and complexity in Illinois."
She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, where she oversees 500 employees and a county organization with over 950,000 residents. Prior to that, she served as Village Manager for Homer Glen, IL. She is a credentialed manager in the International City/County Management Association.
Friling was selected following a national search of more than 80 applicants, conducted by Sumter Local Government Consulting.
"I'm not out there sending a bunch of resumes out. This is actually really the only resume that caught my eye and my attention," she said during her interview. "I'm actually very familiar with Sarasota. I have family who lives in Florida. I have a brother and a daughter who lives in Florida. My parents own property, and live down there in Fort Myers. And I have my best friend who lives right outside of Tampa."
"So, I have visited the community, I know it, I know their beautiful beaches, I know their culture," Friling said. "And so, this is one of the reasons why, I really got interested when I saw the recruitment come out, because I believe that there is a… there is a personal connection to the area for myself."
Five finalists selected by the City Commission visited Sarasota on last week. They took a tour of the city and spoke with residents during an open house.
Friling’s application materials are available for review on the City of Sarasota website at www.Sarasotafl.gov as well as her interview with the City Commission as a whole.
Contract negotiations will be started next week with the city attorney.
