The Wilsonville City Council met in a special work session Oct. 9 to begin the process of recruiting a new city manager, hearing from consultant Richard Myers of GMP Consultants about a multi-step hiring schedule and stakeholder outreach the firm recommends.

Myers told the council the firm prefers a slower timetable to avoid holidays and to attract qualified applicants: “We basically lose three weeks, of those three months, coming up that just disappear off the calendar. People don't respond during those times,” he said, and urged a minimum four- to five-week application period rather than the shorter option the council had previously considered.

The consultant outlined a green (extended) schedule he called conservative and a blue (shorter) schedule the firm considered riskier. Under the green timeline Myers described, the application deadline would be Dec. 7, semifinalist interviews would be completed in early January, and final interviews would be targeted for late January, with a likely start date for the new manager in March or April depending on notice periods. Myers recommended completing background checks and reference checks before the final interviews so that the council would not face post-offer surprises.

Council members discussed interim coverage if the current manager departs before a successor is hired. Council President Berry and others said an interim manager is an option and that the city has historically used internal staff for interim assignments; Myers noted cities also use outside interim managers or the city attorney in some cases. The council asked staff to provide possible interim names and information about how an interim would affect operations.

On candidate outreach and evaluation, Myers recommended stakeholder interviews to shape the recruitment profile and suggested mixing internal staff and external stakeholders on interview panels rather than using only department heads. He described typical stakeholder groups to include department heads, school district leaders, chamber representatives and regional partners, and recommended a public meet-and-greet for finalists so community members can submit comment cards.

Council members asked Myers to hold one-on-one interviews with each council member to collect priorities and to draft a candidate profile for council review. City staff (Andrea) said she drafted the current job description, revised May 1, 2025, and will provide the document and past profiles or comparable examples to the council for comparison. Myers said he would deliver written notes from his candidate screening interviews to the council; those notes would be used in executive session review of semifinalists and finalists.

The discussion also touched on compensation and benefits. Myers described the posted salary range as "$1.90 to $2.20" in the materials he reviewed but the transcript did not specify units; he suggested the council confirm and clarify the salary range and related benefits (such as moving allowances) before launch. He noted moving allowances are commonly used and suggested $20,000 as a low-end example for candidates relocating to Oregon, but that amount was given as a general observation rather than a council decision.

No formal motions or votes were taken in the work session. The council and consultant agreed to follow the extended (green) timetable and to proceed with individual council interviews, stakeholder lists and a draft profile to be returned for council review at upcoming meetings.

Myers said he will begin one-on-one interviews with council members, staff will compile stakeholder contact information and past job-description materials, and the council will decide at a later meeting when to approve the profile and formally launch the recruitment.