CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM

Department:	City Attorney’s Office		Commission Meeting Date:  November 20, 2018
Staff Contact:	Toni Wheeler, City Attorney
Recommendations/Options/Action Requested:
Authorize the Mayor to execute the Professional Services Agreement for Executive Search Services in substantially the form of the attached agreement with Ralph Andersen & Associates.
Executive Summary:		At its special meeting on September 25th, the City Commission authorized the issuance of a request for proposals (RFP) for executive search firm services to assist the City in recruiting and hiring a new city manager.  Vice Mayor Larsen and Commissioner Ananda reviewed proposals with city staff and recommends the City contract with Ralph Andersen & Associates.  The Professional Services Agreement provides that Ralph Andersen & Associates will provide the following services: position analysis, advertising campaign, candidate identification, resume review and screening, preliminary interviews, detailed reference checks, recruitment report, client/finalist interviews, final interview assistance, and follow up. The firm will be paid $27,200 for the work, which shall include expenses such as advertising, consultant travel (up to four trips to the City), clerical, graphics, research, printing and binding, postage and delivery, and long-distance charges. The fixed fee includes up to two days of stakeholder meetings. If additional days of stakeholder meetings are desired, the firm will bill the City at the rate of $1,500 per day, plus the consultant’s travel expenses. Under the work plan, the Project Director, Greg Nelson, will meet in person with the Mayor, City Commission, and city staff to discuss the project, review the work plan, and confirm timing and communication methods. Mr. Nelson will return to Lawrence to review the top candidates with the City Commission, and again when the commission interviews the finalists. Ralph Andersen & Associates provides a guarantee in the Agreement. If during the first year of the employment, the new City Manager resigns or is dismissed for cause by the City, the firm will perform another search for a City Manager for no professional services fee.
Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor		Effective Governance/Professional Administration
Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source):		The fiscal impact to the City is $27,200, plus candidate travel expenses.  This item was not in the 2018 or 2019 budgets.
Attachments:		Professional Services Agreement

Reviewed By: (for CMO use only)

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