Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel City Manager Search topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council to interview top executive recruitment firms in closed session as city manager search proceeds
Summary
Council discussed five executive recruitment proposals for the city manager search, expressed preferences for Bob Murray and Pepe/Pepe‑Smith variants, and agreed to bring top firms into a closed‑session interview at a special meeting or the March meeting to advance the search process.
The Lawndale City Council directed staff to arrange closed‑session interviews with the top executive recruitment firms as it moves to fill the city manager vacancy created by a December 2025 resignation.
Staff told the council it received proposals from five firms — Bob Murray and Associates; CPS HR Consulting; Coffin Associates; Ralph Anderson & Associates; and Pepe Smith Talent Solutions — with proposed fees roughly in the $25,000–$30,000 range and estimated recruitment timelines of 12–16 weeks. Councilmembers discussed firm track records, prior experience with Lawndale, and the option to evaluate firm teams rather than only firm names.
Councilmember comments were split: some favored Bob Murray and Associates for its record placing city managers, while others favored Pepe/Trape/Pepe Smith variants (transcript spelling varies) or Coffin Associates based on past work for the city. Councilmember Suarez requested the opportunity to schedule interviews with the firms; after discussion the council agreed to invite the top two firms to appear in closed session, either at a special meeting or during the first March regular meeting, to allow confidential questioning about recruitment approach and confidentiality sensitive to the Brown Act.
What happens next: Staff will coordinate schedules and bring the selected firms into a closed‑session interview to allow the council to ask confidential, process‑oriented questions about candidate outreach, compensation benchmarking, and proposed timelines. The council noted the overall recruitment is estimated at 12–16 weeks after a firm is selected.
