CASSOPOLIS — The Village of Cassopolis Board of Trustees narrowed its list of candidates for the open village manager position to five finalists Tuesday night.

Joyce Parker of the Michigan Municipal League presented to the board the resumes of the five finalists with two alternates, which the board members approved.

The names of the candidates are not being released until they commit to an interview.

The board scheduled Jan. 12 as the date for the interviews with the five finalists. The interviews will begin at 10 a.m. with each one lasting about one hour.

Each candidate will field 10 questions from the board and give an opening and closing statement.

The village received a total of 37 resumes from across the country — 18 of them coming from within the state.

Most of the finalists have experience as a manager or assistant manager of a municipality.

While discussing interview questions for the candidates, it became clear the board is looking for a manager with experience in public works, economic development, grant writing and contract negotiations. The board members also want the next manager to have experience with the state boundary commission, as they are hoping for Cassopolis to become a city in the future.

The board will encourage the next manager to relocate to Cassopolis, although it cannot be a requirement.

“I would like them to move into the community and be integrated into the community,” said Village President Pro-Tem Robert Yoder. “That was the problem before with him living 50 miles away and not involved with the community.”

The village has been without a manager since October, when the board elected not to extend Kevin Gillette’s contract. He had served as manager since 2007.