Council hires HR firm to screen city‑administrator applicants; panel to advance nine candidates

The city council voted to contract with Total HR Solutions, a Quad Cities human‑resources firm, to provide hiring support for the city‑administrator search. The contract, presented as an a la carte engagement at $175 an hour with an initial scope of roughly 10 hours, will fund phone screenings and background checks for candidates the hiring committee advances.

Councilmember Obren summarized the work group’s review of 38 applications: 13 from Iowa, six from Illinois, three from the Midwest region and 16 from outside the Midwest. The work group recommended nine candidates to proceed to the next stage; the Total HR contract is intended to validate those candidates and perform initial checks. Some councilmembers pressed to keep the job posting open during the screening phase; others warned that reopening could prompt current applicants to withdraw. One compromise floated was to have the HR firm perform a quick review of the nine candidates and, if it finds insufficient options, advise the council on reopening the posting.

Council discussed timing and delegation. Members asked who will craft interview questions and how quickly the firm can produce results; the hiring committee will coordinate with the firm on screening protocols. Council approved the Total HR contract and directed staff to schedule the hiring committee’s next steps; the committee will report back with screening results and recommend whether to reopen the posting.

Next steps: Total HR Solutions will begin phone screens and background checks on the nine identified candidates; the hiring committee will decide whether to reopen recruitment if preliminary results suggest the candidate pool is insufficient.