Grand Junction council leans toward external search, asks staff to prepare RFP for permanent city attorney

The council signaled broad support for an external, recruitment‑firm‑assisted search for a permanent city attorney and asked staff to draft RFP materials and schedule an executive session to set selection criteria and compensation guidelines.

City Manager Mike Bennett framed the item as a process conversation and said the position reports to council, which means council direction is needed before launching a recruitment. "This is a position that reports to the city council," Bennett said, urging the group to decide whether to pursue a national search and whether to engage a recruitment firm. Several councilmembers said they favor using an external firm through an RFP to ensure broad outreach and community confidence in the process. One councilmember noted the interim city attorney "Jeremy" has done an admirable job in the interim role.

Councilmembers discussed practical details: the likely length of the recruitment (staff estimated a swift process could take about three months, a fuller process 4–6 months), the role of HR and procurement in designing the RFP, and whether to conduct certain evaluative steps in executive session to avoid revealing candidate preferences publicly. Staff said they will prepare a draft RFP, solicit procurement input and return with options and a proposed executive‑session date; council suggested aiming to begin the firm-selection process in March but emphasized taking time to set the right criteria and compensation range.

Next steps: staff will draft RFP language and RFP guardrails (price, number of in‑person interactions and other deliverables), consult HR and procurement, and convene an executive session to finalize the approach before posting an RFP.