City officials are mum about the ongoing process to find a permanent replacement for former City Manager Ed Burchins, who resigned in December. “We are finalizing the list of candidates, and that’s really all I can say right now,” said city Human Resources Manager Amy Martin on Friday. The Laurinburg City Council will meet in a closed session at 6:30 p.m. on Monday to conduct interviews for the position, according to a public notice issued by the city. “It will all be done in closed session because it’s a personnel issue,” said Martin, who signed on as HR director not long before Burchins departure last year. Councilman Kenton Spencer said that he has faith in Martin, who is involved in the process, as well as in the hiring process itself. “(Martin) has brought a lot of standard techniques that were lacking prior in regards to the hiring process,” Spencer said. “Her experience level and her professionalism are an asset.” City general services and purchasing director Harold Haywood is currently serving as interim city manager after being asked to step into the role by city council in January. According to Spencer, city council will look to continue narrowing down the list of candidates on Monday after initially considering more than 40 resumes. “There were two batches of candidates that we went through … and in the end what we are looking for is an individual who will work well with the staff and the citizens and move us forward into the 21st century as a competitive city.” Spencer said that in both this hiring process and in those to come, talent will be considered from both inside and outside the city’s staff. “We have many talented individuals who are with the city already who maybe haven’t been given the right opportunity, so we want to look at them too.”