Gage withdraws from consideration for Kansas job 

Springfield City Manager Jason Gage has withdrawn his name from consideration for the city manager position in Manhattan, Kansas, where he was one of four finalists for the job. 

Gage told Springfield Business Journal he wanted to stay in the Queen City. 

“After weighing all factors, leaving Springfield just didn’t feel right,” he said in an email. 

Gage went through a two-day interview process alongside the three other candidates on July 22-23 in Manhattan. That city’s public information office reported on the interview process, which included a public reception to meet the candidates. A community tour and interview sessions with the mayor, city commissioners, city leadership and city staff were also part of the process. A winning candidate in Manhattan has not yet been announced. 

There were 50 candidates from 23 states to replace the recently retired Manhattan city manager, Ron Fehr. Since April, Manhattan has had an interim city manager at the helm. 

The other finalists are Jacob J. Wood, deputy city manager of Salina, Kansas, which has a $160 million budget; Jamie Miller, city manager of Paris, Kentucky, with a $39 million budget; and Danielle Dulin, city manager of Warrensburg, Missouri, with a $46 million budget. 

Gage, with 25-plus years of experience, has been city manager of Springfield since 2018. He manages a $507 million budget and oversees a staff of more than 2,100. Previously, he was city manager of Salina, Kansas, from 2005-18 and of Stillwater, Oklahoma, from 2003-05. 

Gage earns $267,644 per year in his Springfield role. His annual contract is up for renewal in September. 

Springfield has a population of 170,000, as of 2022 Census Bureau figures, while Manhattan’s population is 54,000. 

The Springfield Daily Citizen was the first to report on Gage’s decision to withdraw from consideration for the Manhattan post.