The city manager hiring process will be completely confidential after a unanimous vote from Austin City Council on Thursday.

The only name that will be made public throughout the hiring process will be the candidate who is hired at the end of the process, per the council-approved recommendation from Russell Reynolds and Associates, the recruiting firm hired by council earlier this year.

Austin operates under a “strong city manager” form of government, which makes the city manager arguably the highest-ranking job inside City Hall. The elected officials are tasked with setting policy and act similarly to a board of directors. Acting similarly to a chief executive officer, the city manager, oversees the administration of that policy and the city’s more than $3 billion budget.

The confidentiality of the city manager recruitment and hiring process would affect the type of high-quality candidates the city could attract, according to Stephen Newton, the point representative from Russell Reynolds and Associates. The reason, Newtown said, is because many of the highest-quality candidates the city would want are likely currently employed.

For a high-ranking executive, the promise of confidentiality makes it low-risk to be considered for an unguaranteed position. Word that a candidate is considering a new job could reach his or her boss should identities be made public. That would put the candidate's current job title in a more vulnerable position.

The approved recommendation provides the public a voice in setting the criteria for the selection process, but council would have ultimate say over the rubric. Russell Reynolds and Associates would then begin the recruitment process and bring a list of names to council, which would narrow the list to the candidates who qualify for more in-depth interviews.

The only name that will be made public in the selection of one of the city’s most important public positions is the candidate hired by council at the end of the process.