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And then there were 10.

The Naples City Council narrowed its list of city manager candidates from 61 to 10 during Monday’s workshop.

The list has five Florida candidates, including Marco Island City Manager Bill Moss and Sanibel Island City Manager Judith Zimomra.

Also on the list is former Cape Coral Assistant City Manager Hector Rivera. Rivera lost his job earlier this year because of budget cuts, according to Thomas Freijo, vice president of The Mercer Group Inc., the search firm hired by the city to conduct the manager search.

“I’m impressed with the quality of the candidates,” Councilman Gary Price said.

All of the candidates, save one, were on the initial list of 16 that Freijo provided to council during Monday’s meeting. Mayor Bill Barnett asked that Sam Grove, Cartersville, Ga., city manager, be placed on the list for consideration.

Moss told Marco Island City Council members last week that he planned to apply for the position. At the time, Moss said he was happy on the island, but felt that Naples’ vision statement was something he could support.

Moss also told members of the Marco Island council that he doesn’t plan to look for another job if he isn’t chosen for the Naples position.

“It’s a long way to the finish line,” Moss said Monday. “As I anticipated, they have a very good list of finalists.”

Councilman John Nocera said he was pleased to see that Moss made the cut.

“He’s one of my top picks,” he said. “(But) they’re all good.”

Marco Island Councilman Glenn Tucker said he wasn’t surprised Moss made Naples’ Top Ten list.

“I assume his credentials spoke for themselves,” Tucker said. “I assume the council saw that and wanted to move forward. Despite what’s been going on on Marco, if you look at them objectively, they’re excellent.”

Moss’ application came less than a week after Marco Island council gave him a 6 percent raise. Once the new pay scale goes into effect, Moss will make $161,000 a year, not including fringe benefits.

The Naples city manager pay scale has been set at $150,000 to $200,000, plus fringe benefits. Current Naples City Manager Bob Lee makes $154,500 a year.

Lee resigned so he could pursue his dream of teaching. He is slated to leave his position on Oct. 19 and begin work as a faculty member at the Askew School of Public Administration at Florida State University in Tallahassee on Nov. 1.

Zimomra has been Sanibel’s city manager for six years.

Freijo told council members that Zimomra explained she “liked a challenge” and this was the only position she has applied for during her tenure as Sanibel city manager.

“My feeling is her education and experience has prepared her for work in Naples,” Freijo said.

Freijo said Cape Coral officials indicated they were sorry to see Rivera go, but needed to make cuts because of budget constraints.

“His leaving had nothing to do with performance,” Freijo said. “He is comfortable working in a community with a high demand for service.”

Absent from the final 10 is former Largo City Manager Susan Stanton.

Stanton, formerly known as Steve Stanton, was fired in March after announcing plans to take steps to become a woman.

Stanton did, however, make the top 16.

“I have interacted with Susan Stanton before and I have always been impressed with the very high quality (of her work),” Freijo said. “She is someone who holds very high standards.”

Candidates will undergo extensive background and reference checks in the coming weeks. City Council will review additional information during the Oct. 15 workshop, where they then will discuss candidates to interview.

Interviews will begin Oct. 22.

Price, who originally was hesitant about the speed of the search, said he is pleased with the progress the city has made.

“I feel good about the process,” Price said. “I think we need to know a lot more (about the candidates). But in my opinion, if one or two stand out, I would support them. (If there isn’t), I’m not going to do anything, but I don’t think we should hold up the process.”

Council is expected to make a decision by Oct. 23, with the new city manager starting by the end of the year.

Staff Writer Liam Dillon contributed to this report.