Hanford council delegates interviews to mayor, vice mayor for city manager recruitment

The Hanford City Council on June 19 designated the mayor and vice mayor to interview the top two firms that responded to the city's request for proposals for executive recruitment services for the city manager position and to return to council with a recommendation.

Councilmembers said they reviewed 11 proposals submitted under the city's RFP process and ranked each firm according to the evaluation criteria. Staff reported that Bob Hall and Associates and Bob Murray and Associates were the top two firms, with a final scoring difference of less than one point between them.

Councilmember (unnamed in the transcript) moved that the mayor and vice mayor conduct interviews of the two top-ranked firms, select a preferred firm, and return to council with a recommendation. Councilmember Martinez seconded the motion. The clerk announced the motion passed, five to zero.

During discussion, several councilmembers said they wanted interviews because differences in pricing and package contents made it difficult to choose based on the written proposals alone. One councilmember noted that one firm’s proposal appeared to include “all-in” pricing while the other listed a lower base fee with add-on items; the transcript records the figures as “$37” and “$27” without specifying units or whether those amounts were thousands, which was not clarified in the meeting.

Councilmembers also discussed whether a promotional video of Hanford should be part of recruitment outreach. One councilmember suggested asking the recruitment firm to produce a city video to help advertise Hanford; staff cautioned that the suggestion was not a formal action. City staff member Brian said the city is receiving raw video from a concurrent water meter upgrade project and that the city would have rights to that content, which could potentially be edited for promotional use. Councilmembers asked that the mayor and vice mayor ask finalists about community engagement approaches (in-person meetings, livestreaming and other outreach) as part of the interviews.

Staff said they would contact both firms to arrange interview dates and coordinate scheduling with the mayor and vice mayor. The council did not make a final vendor selection at the June 19 meeting; the mayor and vice mayor will interview the two firms and return with a recommendation for a future council vote.

Votes at a glance: Motion to designate the mayor and vice mayor to interview the two top-ranked recruitment firms and return with a recommendation — Passed, 5-0 (moved: not specified in transcript; second: Councilmember Martinez).