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EDC votes 3–2 to hire firm to screen executive-director candidates
Summary
The Prairie View EDC approved a $7,000 contract with Clear Career Professionals to screen roughly 50 existing executive-director resumes, produce a vetted finalist list and perform background checks after debate over hiring from within versus paying a search firm.
The Prairie View Economic Development Corporation voted 3–2 to hire Clear Career Professionals for $7,000 to screen and vet existing applicants for the EDC executive-director vacancy.
The board debated whether to rely on an outside firm or to review candidates internally. The motion to retain Clear Career Professionals was presented as a compliance and vetting measure to narrow a large applicant pool. "It's not the search. We already have resumes," the board president said in arguing the firm would "screen and properly review" candidates and help ensure HR and municipal compliance. Proponents said an independent reviewer could reduce claims of bias and produce a defensible list of finalists for interviews.
Dr. Brown and other directors pushed for transparency and external review. Jonathan Preston said the board has spent more than a year trying to fill the executive-director role and supported the item as a pragmatic step toward appointing someone who can carry out the EDC's work.
Opponents questioned the cost and whether the city should prioritize hiring from within the community. Public commenters earlier in the meeting urged the board to "start from within" and to use local talent rather than spend on outside search firms.
The motion passed with the board recording the outcome as 3 in favor and 2 opposed. The contract was described as covering resume screening and background investigations to identify approximately eight finalists from a candidate pool the board said contains about 50 resumes.
Next steps: the firm will screen the resumes and report back with a narrowed list of candidates and recommended next steps; the board noted the eventual hiring decision remains a board vote and must be approved through city council procedures.
