At press time Tuesday night, the council was still interviewing the applicants and declined to name the finalist.
But some council members have confirmed that a report by WLNC radio — naming Ralph Clark and Ed Burchins as finalists — was correct.
Both men are said to be experienced city administrators.
Burchins served as city manager for Newton, for nearly a decade. He also served as manager for Washington, N.C. and Florence, S.C.
He was terminated from the Newton position in August of 2006, less than one week after he was reportedly arrested on domestic trespassing charges.
He was later cleared of the charges.
Burchins' salary was $96,683 at the time, according to news reports.
Burchins currently lives in Raleigh and works for Springsted, Inc., a public sector advisory firm.
Ralph Clark, 62, is the former city manager of Kinston. He retired in 2006 after more then 32 years in local government, seven of which were in Kinston.
Clark has managed other municipalities in North Carolina, including Roxboro, Clayton, Elizabeth city, Smithfield and Washington.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Newton has a population of 12,560, Kinston has a population of 23,688 and Laurinburg has a population of 15,874.
A person close to the process told The Laurinburg Exchange that Craig Meadows, the interim town manager for Red Springs, was among the finalists for Laurinburg's top post but he withdrew his application after receiving another job offer. He was named administrator for Montgomery County on Monday.
Craig Honeycutt, the city's former manager, left Laurinburg to serve as county manager for Alamance. His salary as city manager was $98,606.
Dee Hammond is the interim city manager.
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