By Michael V. Hannigan
The Athens City Council Monday night directed staff to advertise for Requests for Proposals (ROPs) from employment recruitment agencies to find a city administrator.
Current City Administrator Pam Burton has handed in her resignation and will be leaving at the end of the year.
The council voted 3-2 with the three council members who were elected in May – Tres Winn, Joe Whatley and Charles Elliott – voting to hire a rfp consultant, commonly called a headhunter.
“(Headhunters) have a broader range of choices,” said Whatley.
Elliott said he and Whatley went to visit the Tyler City Administrator and were told hiring a company to lead the search would be the best move.
Mayor Jerry Don Vaught and Monte Montgomery voted against hiring an outside company.
“I’ve had a very bad experience with a headhunter,” said Montgomery.
Vaught echoed Montgomery’s sentiments and said he thought the city could handle the hiring in-house with the help of the Texas Municipal League (TML). He said that would also save the cost of an outside company which officials said, depending on the specific contract, could run between $20,000 to $30,000.
Winn said he liked the idea of an outside company going through the search and the background checks and then presenting three or four candidates to the council. He said the council will still get to make the decision and didn’t have to just accept anyone presented by a head hunter.
“(Hiring a consultant) doesn’t take us out of the decision,” he said.