Following an executive session on Tuesday, December 4, Newark City Council voted five to two to enter contract negotiations with Tom Coleman for the City Manager position. An executive session to begin discussion of the details of the contract will be scheduled as part of the Monday, December 10 regular Council meeting.

Coleman has held the interim position since May 2017, and previously served as the City's Public Works and Water Resources director for three years. He has worked for the City since 2011. Council voted at its November 12 meeting to have Coleman participate in the public portion of the search process following an unsuccessful nationwide recruitment effort earlier this year.

His participation in the public portion of the search process mirrored that of previous candidates. On Monday, December 3, he delivered a presentation to and participated in a structured interview with Department directors. The presentation was recorded and posted on the website for public viewing. Later that evening, Coleman participated in a public question and answer session, which was livestreamed, as well as a meet and greet event with the public. Feedback from the public and City employees was solicited and requested to be submitted to GovHR by noon on December 4. Those responses were compiled and provided to Council as part of their consideration process.