DURHAM - Each of the three finalists for Durham city manager has the decades of top-level experience that City Council members said was an essential requirement.

But the fact that the three men also have had recent disputes with their latest employers appears to have given council members pause.

City Council member Mike Woodard said he's looking for a manager with a strong track record in three areas: fighting crime, addressing "core services" such as street maintenance, and efficiently delivering capital projects.

"Do all those guys have that experience? Yes, to varying degrees," Woodard said Tuesday.

"Do a couple of other guys who may have expressed interest in the job? Yeah, those, too.

"But then you have to factor in that last piece: How will he work with citizens, employees and the seven of us? Perhaps that's the ultimate decision-maker."

It has been more than two weeks since George Kolb of Wichita, Kan.; Randy Oliver of Peoria, Ill.; and Pat Salerno of Sunrise, Fla., were questioned at a public forum and then privately by council members.

Hours of closed-door meetings since haven't yielded a consensus.

The council will meet again today at noon in closed session to continue deliberations about which of the three -- if any -- are the right fit for Durham.

Mayor Bill Bell projects that the council will name a new manager late this month or early in June. Neither he nor Woodard thinks an announcement of any kind will come out of today's meeting.

Bell has raised the possibility that the council would reopen the search if none of the three candidates emerges as the clear favorite. He noted that two other potential finalists shied away because they didn't want to upset their current employers.

On Tuesday, Bell said, "We had a pool of applicants. We're looking at the pool."

When asked whether that meant approaching the two employed candidates, Bell said, "I don't want to get into who we're talking to. You can look at the pool a lot of different ways."

Former City Council member Thomas Stith III, a member of the council when it hired the current manager, Patrick Baker, and his predecessor, Marcia Conner, said the delay should concern Durham residents.

"It makes me wonder if council doesn't feel there's a clear choice, and that strengthens my concern about whether we have the best candidate," said Stith, who vacated his seat last year to mount an unsuccessful challenge to Bell.

Others, though, don't want the council to rush.

"I don't care how long it takes. as long as they find someone who is a seasoned professional," said Jackie Brown, a Durham political insider and member of the city-county planning commission.

"He should be tough but likable and understand something about politics. We should not settle for second-best."

Woodard said the rocky tenures of both Conner and Baker were a factor in the methodical nature of the discussions.

Conner's critics pointed to a botched search for a police chief and a scandal involving a small-business loan program in which more than $800,000 in city-funded loans were issued to businesses that were either nonexistent or not eligible for the money. Conner was forced to resign in 2004.

The tenure of Baker, who will be returning to his old job as city attorney, was hampered by the Duke lacrosse fiasco and subsequent lawsuits against the city, as well as his handling of crises such as lead leaching into some drinking water.

"I think the citizens understand we want to thoroughly vet any finalists -- let me say, any candidates -- for the job to make sure we get the best fit for the position," Woodard said.

Brown, the planning commissioner, was more blunt.

"What's that saying? Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me," she said.

"I think that's part of the reason they're taking their time. And I don't blame them."