Brevard commissioners approve RFP to hire county manager search consultant, chair named to committee

The Brevard County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-0 on April 22 to advertise a request for proposals (RFP) for consulting services to assist the board in recruiting and selecting its next county manager. Commissioners also approved a selection and negotiation committee and directed staff to include a timeline tying the hire to the start of the next fiscal year.

County staff presented the draft RFP, which lays out a scope of services and selection criteria and proposes a selection committee consisting of the director of human resources, the county attorney and a commissioner or board designee. Melissa (staff), who introduced the item, said the committee will review proposals and return recommendations to the board for final action.

Commissioner Atkinson, who moved approval, asked for changes that would increase transparency during the procurement: she proposed removing or limiting the cone of silence, requiring sample proposals and resumes from firms, asking for stronger community engagement experience from bidders, weekly instead of biweekly updates, and electronic submission options. County Attorney Morris explained that county procurement rules (BCC 25) require a cone of silence for solicitations and that waiving it would be a formal action; he noted the cone of silence does not apply to public meetings or the county’s designated representative in solicitations.

Commissioners accepted several clarifications and a friendly amendment that the consultant search be structured so the board can have a county manager in place at the start of the new fiscal year. The board also directed that vendor proposals received on USB drives be uploaded to a shared drive for commissioner access. The motion to approve the RFP and designate the chair to the selection committee passed unanimously; commissioners said final contract terms and search details will be worked out with the selected consultant.

The board requested the RFP include timeline guidance, require proposer resumes for staff assigned to the project, and ask proposers to describe prior community engagement and sample deliverables. The county will advertise the RFP and return with recommendations from the selection committee for final approval.

Ending: Staff will advertise the RFP and the committee will review proposals; the board expects to return to the matter when a consultant recommendation is available before the next fiscal year.