The city council has narrowed down its search for a city manager to two final candidates: Janette Bower and Peter Williams. Bower worked as the Bethel City Clerk from 2002 to 2003. She is currently the city administrator in Wadena, Minnesota, which has a population of 4,100. Williams is Bethel's current Acting City Manager. He served as Bethel City Manager from 2017 until 2019, when the city council fired him in a split vote.
Council members interviewed Bower and Williams on Dec. 8, along with two other candidates. They voted to conduct another round of interviews with the two finalists.