Monroe City Council members expect to receive a consultant’s report next month that addresses why its city managers continue to quit on them and what can be done to try to change that dynamic.

But it’s not clear yet how much of the taxpayer-funded report will be released to the public.

The council plans to review the report from the Charlotte law firm of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein at its Jan. 15 meeting. Anthony Fox, one of the attorneys preparing the document, said there likely will be parts of the report dealing with personnel that would need to be addressed in closed session.

It will be up to city council to decide to what extent and what form it may want to release the report publicly, Fox said. “I’ll advise the council on the options they may have to publish the report, all or in part,” he added.

Monroe is looking to find its fourth city manager since late 2000.

City spokesman Pete Hovanec said he expects the city will ultimately release some form of the document publicly.

“The end goal is to provide better service to residents, and a better atmosphere and working environment for everyone,” Hovanec said. “The city needs to get past this issue, do what we need to do and move to the future.”

The city council had voted to spend $35,000 to $50,000 on the report, and is not proceeding with its search for a new manager until it goes over the report. Another $21,500 was set aside for search firm Colin Baenziger and Associates of Florida to help it find a new manager.

Councilwoman Margaret Desio sought the manager’s study, saying she hoped Monroe could learn from it. The churn in managers hurts the city’s image, staff morale and city council’s effectiveness, according to Desio.

Wayne Herron suddenly quit as manager in July. The move had followed intense closed-door discussion by council members over Herron deciding not to give a performance bonus to the police chief.

After he resigned, Herron received a lump sum payment equal to his annual salary of $150,654, and Assistant City Manager Greg Demko was named the interim city manager.

Herron spent a little over three years as manager.

His predecessor worked for three years and four months and the manager before that lasted for four years, five months.

Once the nationwide manager search gets under way, Desio said, it could take about 90 days to complete. Herron’s replacement could be on board by the late spring or early summer, she said.