Princeton’s search for a city manager is continuing at a snail’s pace, which could mean one of two things.

The city is taking its time searching for just the right man or woman to lead the City Hall staff … or it doesn’t have a clue on how to proceed. Which option do you choose?

The Princeton Herald reported this week that the city is offering little information on the search. They’ll back to us, city officials told the newspaper. C’mon, gang. Get busy, will ya?

Mayor Eugene Escobar Jr. said he’s happy with the job being done by interim City Manager Jeff Jones, who replaced Mike Mashburn in December after Mashburn resigned. Mashburn had been on the job just shy of two years. Jones served formerly as city manager in Southlake.

So, what does Jones’s performance mean? Does he now emerge as a favorite to get the permanent job as Princeton’s chief municipal executive?

The city, in my view, made a mess of the process when it hired Mashburn. He emerged from the shadows after seemingly clandestine interviews with then-Mayor Brianna Chacon. The mayor introduced Mashburn to the City Council in an executive session and — presto! — the council hired him on the spot. The council took no time to ask him questions, to inquire closely about his background or ask him to jump through a couple of hoops to prove he would be the right man for the job.

Chacon boasted about the “transparent” process that occurred. Baloney!

Then came questions about Mashburn’s decision to live outside the city. It seems to me that a chief executive who is going to recommend the tax burden he proposes for the city’s residents should have to share in the burden he or she is asking others to bear.

The city council needs to do a much better job of seeking candidates to run the nation’s fastest-growing city. Three months have passed since Mashburn called it quits. Yes, we have an interim manager. And, yes, the mayor likes the job he’s doing. What about the rest of the council? Are they on board with this fellow, too?

My own preference would be for the council to collect as many applications as possible, winnow them down to a list of finalists. Say, about four individuals. Then they should tell us the names of the finalists, bring them to the city, meet in public, let interested residents meet them, question them and then make a decision.

The Princeton City Council makes one hiring decision. The city manager reports directly to the council. A city on the move deserves a city manager who is committed to this community. Get it right, council members!