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Lakewood council hires GMP Consultants to lead city manager recruitment; council to be individually interviewed
Summary
The Lakewood City Council voted unanimously to authorize a professional services agreement with GMP Consultants to conduct the city manager recruitment. Council members pressed for clearer touchpoints in the firm's work plan; staff said consultants will interview each council member individually and attend the March 29 retreat to hear priorities.
The Lakewood City Council on March 3 authorized a professional services agreement with GMP Consultants to conduct the city manager recruitment process, voting unanimously to approve Motion 2025-15.
Council members said the search is urgent because the current city manager is retiring; the contract gives staff authority to execute the agreement while the council retains hiring authority. Assistant to the city manager Michael Vargas presented the subcommittee's recommendation and said the panel compared proposals from GMP Consultants and Karis Consulting and interviewed both firms before choosing GMP.
The decision matters because the council will select the city manager who sets and implements citywide policy and administration. Councilmember Brandstetter raised concerns that the draft work plan did not explicitly mention how the consultant would engage the full council. Brandstetter asked, "Exactly how does this contractor plan to interact with the seven of us?"
Vargas and Mayor Whalen said the consultant's lead will meet each council member individually to collect preferences for candidate attributes and skills, and will be invited to the council's March 29 retreat to hear priorities as a body. Vargas explained that the consultant will reach out to city directors and other stakeholders the council identifies'for example the school superintendent, the Chamber of Commerce and commission leaders'to build a candidate profile for council review.
Council members discussed the expected applicant pool and compensation. Vargas said GMP cautioned that the pool of experienced local government managers has diminished nationally: "Instead of getting, say, 25 applicants, we might get ten-fourteen," he told the council. The consultants also advised the council to be prepared to show flexibility on compensation packages to attract finalists; Vargas said GMP thought Lakewood's current package was in range but flexibility might be needed.
The motion was moved by Councilmember Bokey and seconded by Councilmember Pearson. With no further discussion, the council voted in favor by voice; the motion passed unanimously.
Council members and staff said the consultant will present a candidate profile for council approval before advertising, will provide regular touchpoints during screening, and will propose an interview format (panels, community involvement or council-only interviews) for the council to choose. The contract does not, in the council meeting record, list a dollar amount or the final contract signature date; those details were not specified in the public discussion.
What happens next: staff will finalize the consultant contract for execution and the consultant will begin stakeholder interviews and profile development. The council retains final hiring authority and will review and approve the candidate profile before recruitment outreach begins.
