With the West End Plaza issue on the sideline for the time being, Salisbury City Council has a short agenda for its meeting Tuesday.

Council will hear an update on the town’s finances for the first quarter of the fiscal year, which began July 1, from interim City Manager John Sofley.

Council approved a $36 million budget in June that included increases in the property-tax rate, monthly garbage fee and the water-sewer rate. The increases are meant to fill a revenue gap left by a decrease in funding from the state.

During the Oct. 7 meeting, council received information about two recruiting firms in regard to the city’s search for a new city manager. The firms are Developmental Associates of Chapel Hill and Slavin Management Consultants.

Developmental Associates quoted a price range of $17,500 to $20,325 to aid the city in the search, and Slavin Management’s quote ranged from $14,050 to $21,777. If a firm is chosen, it will build a list of candidates for City Council to evaluate.

Council deferred any decision on a search firm until Tuesday’s meeting, but Mayor Paul Woodson said he likes Development Associates because they perform psychological testing on applicants.

Slavin Management is a national search firm, while Development Associates focuses searches mainly in North Carolina.

Sofley has been filling the role of city manager since June, when Doug Paris abruptly resigned from the job he’d held for two years.

Why Paris left is still unclear, and city officials have been reluctant to talk about the issue.

However, they’ve said the decision for Paris to step down was a mutual one between him and City Council.

In September, Sofley, who has worked for the city for more than 25 years, told the Post he plans to apply for the city manager position.

City Council meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall at 217 S. Main Street.