North Miami Beach reopens city manager search, sets $300,000 cap and $30,000 headhunter ceiling

The North Miami Beach City Commission voted to reopen its search for a permanent city manager and to expand outreach nationally, setting a new advertised salary cap of up to $300,000 and authorizing staff to solicit proposals from executive-search firms with headhunter fees capped at $30,000.

The vote concluded a lengthy discussion at the commission’s October meeting on how to broaden recruitment, how much to pay a new manager and whether to hire an executive search firm. Commissioners debated trade-offs between local familiarity and bringing in candidates with transferable executive skills, weighed the city’s recruitment record, and pressed staff for clarity about background checks and timelines.

Commissioners said the city’s initial recruitment yielded about 70 applications, and several members argued that a broader search — with professional screening help — could increase the pool and signal transparency to residents. “I think we should cast a nationwide net,” Commissioner Hsu said, urging the commission to consider hiring a headhunter to identify and vet additional candidates. Interim human-resources director Jacob Newman told the panel that any finalists would receive both a preliminary background screening and a more formal background investigation that could include criminal- and driving-history…