Jan 4 Subcommittee Narrows City Manager Search Firm List to 3 Finalists

The Amarillo Pioneer
Noah Dawson
January 4 2024

Three recruitment firms seeking to be hired by the City of Amarillo to help recruit a new city manager will present to city council on Tuesday.

The firms, Baker Tilley, Clear Career Professionals, and Strategic Government Resources, were narrowed from a field of eight by a subcommittee consisting of city councilmen Don Tipps and Les Simpson. According to Simpson, each of the three finalists “has been told to give a 10-minute presentation” during the upcoming council meeting.

The proposal from Baker Tillery includes the following timeline at a cost of $36,382:

• Task 1: Project kickoff, candidate profile, development of marketing, recruitment and outreach strategy

• Task 2: Acknowledge applications and begin reviewing and classification of all applicants

• Task 3: Develop and assign due diligence and applicant questionnaires, one-way video interview questions, review responses, prepare electronic Semi-Finalist Report, and selection of potential finalists

• Task 4: Secure up to 10 references, conduct a background check, administer leadership/management assessment, and Finalist Report

• Task 5: Interview process preparation, invitations, technical support, suggested interview questions; final process, and on-site interviews with finalists

The firm has also noted it can also conduct a “web-based community survey” for an additional $1,650 and provide other services at a rate of $350 per hour plus expenses.

The proposal from Clear Career Professionals is at a fixed cost of $21,000, with payment billed for each of the following phases:

• $12,000 upon execution of the contract

• $6,000 upon selection of the group of semi-finalists

• $3,000 upon selection of a final candidate

The proposal from Strategic Government Resources includes the following timeline with a cost of up to $26,650:

• Initial steps (minimum of 2-3 weeks)

• Weeks 1-4: Post position and firm up timeline, recruitment campaign and outreach to prospective applicants, and initial screening and review by executive recruiter 

• Week 5: Search committee briefing to review applicant pool and select semifinalists

• Week 6: Questionnaires, recorded one-way semifinalist interviews, and media searches stage 1

• Week 7: Semifinalist briefing books via electronic link and recorded online interviews, if applicable

• Week 8: Search committee briefing to select finalists 

• Weeks 9-10: Comprehensive media searches stage 2, background investigation reports, and first-year plan or other advanced exercise (if desired) 

• Week 11: finalist briefing books via electronic link

• Week 12: Face-to-face interviews, stakeholder engagement (if desired), deliberations reference checks (may occur earlier in process), and negotiations and hiring process 

The cost is broken down into a fixed fee of $24,650 and up to $2,000 in advertising costs. Strategic Government Resources also offers various additional services, including a $1,000 online stakeholder survey. The fixed fee will be paid across 4 installments: 30% upon contract execution, 30% after the applicant pool is presented, 30% after finalist interviews, and 10% upon acceptance of employment.

The search for a new city manager began after Jared Miller, who was hired in 2017, signed a separation agreement with the city in August last year. Since then, Andrew Freeman has been promoted from Deputy City Manager to Interim City Manager.

The city council meeting is scheduled for January 9th at 3:00 pm on the third floor of Amarillo City Hall.