The Galesburg city council hopes to hire a new city manager within three to six months.
But the recruitment firm that ran the search for a city manager last year believes it’s a very competitive market and is recommending a higher starting salary for the position.
“For I think a variety of reasons, the pool of qualified candidates is relatively small,” said Mark Peterson, a vice president for GovHR USA. “We’re finding that city managers are tending to stay put longer than they have in the past, particularly if they’re in a good situation.”
The council met for a work session Wednesday night. Following a closed session to discuss personnel, Peterson gave a presentation to the council.
No action was taken in open session at the meeting.
“Good candidates are limited and good candidates are choosy, because they can be,” Peterson told the council. “They’re trying to look at a situation that fits their style and their approach and one that they feel they can come in and be successful. So we’re certainly going to do our best job to convince potential candidates that Galesburg is one of those good communities.”
GovHR is still under contract with the city because previous city manager Gerald Smith was on the job for less than a year.
Smith was hired by the council on a 4-3 vote last year out of a pool of 32 applicants, following the departure of longtime city manager Todd Thompson to Rock Island.
Smith was offered the job after the city’s top candidate withdrew.
Smith was the city’s first Black city manager. He reached a separation agreement with the city on June 12 and last worked at city hall in May.
The council members who voted against Smith's appointment said they were concerned about compensation. Smith’s starting salary of $165,000 was at the top of the advertised range.
Peterson is recommending the advertised salary range for the position be bumped up $5,000 for this search.
So the salary range would be $155,000 to $170,000 for Galesburg’s next city manager.
Peterson said once the job is posted, it’s likely the city could begin interviewing candidates in about four weeks.
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