Eugene council interviews six executive‑search firms, selects three finalists to advance

During interviews conducted as part of the city’s search for a new city manager, the Eugene City Council questioned six executive‑search firms about outreach, candidate diversity and deliverables and agreed to advance three finalists for further interviews with the full council.

Council President Greg Evans opened the session by telling the firms they were among the semifinalists under consideration for the city manager recruitment. After roughly two hours of firm presentations and follow‑up questions from councilors about outreach strategies, candidate screening and costs, councilors agreed to invite Bob Murray & Associates, CPS HR and WBCP back for a longer meeting with the full council on July 9 to finalize the finalist list and next steps.

The council’s discussion focused on three recurring topics: how each firm would recruit a nationwide — but West Coast‑weighted — candidate pool, how each firm would conduct community and internal staff engagement, and fees and extra costs that might be passed through to the city. Pam Derby of CPS HR said the firm would run a nationwide recruitment and “do as much community engagement as we need to,” and emphasized that communication with councilors would guide outreach. Teddy Anderson, who worked with Derby at CPS HR, added that “constant communication is key” while sourcing and screening candidates.

Firms described different pricing and deliverables in their proposals. CPS HR said it charges a flat fee of $30,000 that it described as inclusive of travel, advertising, background checks and recruiting deliverables, with an optional candidate‑travel allowance of up to $5,000 and optional leadership assessments priced per candidate. Steve Worthington of Proven (Proffman/Proven) quoted a flat fee listed in his materials of roughly $18,050 but said that advertising, mailings, travel and candidate travel are billed as pass‑through expenses and not included in the base fee. Heather Rentschler of Ralph Anderson & Associates said her proposal included a larger all‑inclusive search fee (about $39,075 in the firm materials) and offered community surveys for an additional fee. Wendy and Levi from WBCP said their quoted base fee was approximately $25,090 plus pass‑through expenses (the firm estimated expense pass‑throughs around $6,900). Valerie Dana Phillips of Bob Murray & Associates described an all‑inclusive $37,000‑range package that, she said, covers typical recruitment tasks and two on‑site visits for panels and final interviews.

Councilors pressed firms on diversity of candidate pools and outreach mechanisms. Several firms pointed to targeted outreach — for example, posting to professional networks, member organizations and diversity job boards — and to active referral and headhunting work to find passive candidates. Pam Derby said CPS HR had seen 57% of recent senior candidates identify as female or people of color, and Wendy from WBCP described using a subscription service that posts openings to hundreds of diversity job boards and community organizations. Raftelis representatives Heather Gantz and Sarah Sliggers stressed “being honest and transparent with candidates” about the role and timelines as part of attracting diverse applicants.

Councilors asked how firms would manage the work while not being fully based in Eugene. Several firms said they would do the bulk of stakeholder interviews and candidate screening by video and remote meetings but would travel to Eugene for key events such as final interviews and on‑site candidate visits. Ralph Anderson and Bob Murray noted they would send the lead recruiter or senior team member for on‑site rounds. Jeff Morey of Bob Murray, a former law enforcement executive who joined the firm, noted his regional familiarity and offered in‑person support for local engagement.

City staff told the council that a planned community survey would begin on July 7 and would run for several weeks; staff said results would not be complete by the end of the summer. At the end of the session councilors settled on the three finalists to advance to the full‑council interview on July 9 and asked staff to prepare contract negotiation materials for the firm the council selects. Councilors said they expect staff to handle final contracting and expense negotiations if a firm is selected.

The July 9 session will allow each finalist firm to present a short summary of approach and answer council questions; the council indicated it intends to pick a recommended vendor and authorize staff to negotiate a contract after that meeting.

Quotes used in this article are drawn from the council’s recorded vendor interviews and are attributed to speakers who participated in the session.