Three Lawrence city manager candidates from left, Thomas “Tom” Markus of Iowa City, Iowa, Roderick “Rod” Bremby of Glastonbury, Conn., shaking hands with Lawrence mayor Mike Amyx and Cheryl Harrison-Lee of Gardner, Kan. are introduced before a public reception Thursday evening at the Carnegie Building, 200 W. Ninth St.

The City Commission will announce Thursday afternoon the person it has selected as Lawrence’s new city manager.

City commissioners will meet in a special session at 3 p.m. Thursday to make the announcement. They will also formally put the new city manager’s employment agreement on the commission’s Jan. 19 meeting agenda.

Commissioners must vote to approve the employment agreement before the city manager is officially hired.

They will meet in the City Commission Meeting Room on the first floor of City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.

The announcement will come nearly one month after the commission selected the city manager from a pool of three finalists: Rod Bremby, of Glastonbury, Conn.; Cheryl Harrison-Lee, of Gardner; and Tom Markus, of Iowa City, Iowa.

Bremby, 55, currently works as a commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Social Services; Harrison-Lee, 53, is the city administrator of Gardner; and Tom Markus, 64, is city manager of Iowa City.

Negotiations have been ongoing since Dec. 18 with the person selected. Mayor Mike Amyx said Tuesday night that they were close to coming to a deal.