Whitefish’s top selection for the next city manager has declined an offer of employment.

City Council and Mayor John Muhlfeld unanimously selected Chuck Winn among the four finalists and offered him the position, but he chose to decline the offer, Whitefish officials announced Monday night. Following several days of discussion, Winn chose to remain in Bozeman, where he serves as the assistant city manager.

“I am of course disappointed in Chuck’s decision to decline the job offer,” Muhlfeld said. “He was satisfied with the compensation package and terms of the employment agreement, but apparently due to personal reasons, he decided now was not the right time for his family to uproot from Bozeman.”

Muhlfeld and the City Council plan to meet in executive session Friday, Sept. 30, 2016 at 8 a.m. to discuss the next steps.

Muhlfeld said council will discuss a few options on Friday, including whether to negotiate with one of the top candidates, re-evaluate the entire candidate pool and determine if there are other candidates it would like to interview, re-advertise the position, or hire a headhunting firm to assist the city in reaching a broader market.

City Council, a community interview committee and a staff interview committee conducted interviews with the four finalists for the position on Sept. 16.

The other three candidates for the position included Ken Decker, Edwin Meece and Kim Park.

Decker is a county administrator from Caroline County, Maryland, Meece is the former city manager for the city of Livingston and Park is the elected town supervisor in Wolcott, New York.

Chuck Stearns, who has served as city manager for the past eight years, will retire in early 2017. He announced his plans to step down in March.