Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Recruitment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council favors RFI approach for nationwide search for city manager; asks for stakeholder input and compensation benchmarking
Summary
Council directed HR to proceed with an RFI‑style executive search for a new city manager, with broad stakeholder input (department heads, labor, business and community) and compensation benchmarking; council emphasized quality over speed and asked staff to return with recruiter options and public report‑backs.
HR Director Linda Andahl presented options for a nationwide recruitment for the vacant city manager position, describing the differences between an RFI (quicker, targeted outreach) and an RFP (longer, more formal procurement). She recommended retaining an executive recruitment firm; councilmembers generally favored an RFI to shorten the timeline and preserve flexibility, while asking for a robust outreach component that includes department heads, labor representatives and key community stakeholders.
Councilmembers discussed the tradeoffs between speed and quality, the need for confidentiality to attract sitting executives, and the benefits of public input (online surveys and stakeholder meetings) to shape the candidate profile. Several councilmembers asked that the recruiter provide the identity of the staffer who will perform outreach and that the firm demonstrate experience recruiting city managers for large, complex jurisdictions. Council also asked staff to prepare compensation benchmarking and to present a short list of recruiter firms (top three) for council selection.
No vote was required that night; staff said they would proceed with preliminary outreach to executive recruiters and return with formal recommendations and a proposed public engagement plan.
