Council to consider city manager search firm this week

Following a national search, City Council is poised to choose Mosaic Public Partners, LLC to help recruit a new city manager. Former City Manager Spencer Cronk was fired on Feb. 15, and Council immediately appointed former City Manager Jesús Garza as interim city manager.

Mayor Kirk Watson, who sat on the committee recommending the firm to help Council find a new manager, said during Tuesday’s work session that he and Council members Leslie Pool, Vanessa Fuentes, Chito Vela and Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis went through an extensive process to find the right agency. The city’s financial department has estimated the cost of the contract at $75,000 and added another $75,000 to pay for other items incidental to the search, including travel for candidates and for community engagement.

Watson said a request for qualifications was advertised in July and that 12 companies responded. The Council committee chose the four firms they thought were most qualified and then asked each of them to answer specific questions about their processes. He said two of the firms did well in answering specific questions the Council committee asked. The two others, not so much.

Watson said the committee was particularly impressed with Mosaic’s commitment to transparency as well as diversity. Mosaic offers its clients access to an online portal that provides detailed data about what a search has revealed about various candidates.

According to the Council agenda, “Once the contract is executed, the contractor will engage with the Mayor and Council to define and plan the overall recruitment process. Through this process, the contractor will be responsible for a variety of executive recruitment services, including … assisting the Mayor and Council in analyzing and evaluating prospective candidates; managing all communications and media engagements; assisting with the identification of the most eligible candidates; interview coordination and support; assisting in the determination of finalists; developing and facilitating an inclusive and equitable community engagement process; assisting the Mayor and Council in determining their final selection; as well as all follow-on support after the selected candidate has been appointed.”

Although news stories about the search continue to harp on the question of when the city will have a new city manager, Watson said Council would not be rushed into making its decision. He said the firm estimates it will take 12 to 17 weeks to be ready to make an offer. After that, he said the new manager will need another 30 to 60 days to wind up their current job and move to Austin.

Watson also noted that if Council approves the contract on Thursday, city staff will still have to negotiate the agreement, so that will add more time to the process.

Council Member Alison Alter suggested that Council meet with Garza over the next few weeks to discuss what they would like to see in a new city manager. She also suggested that Council set up some meetings now for December and January to meet with candidates. Alter said she felt that Council did not have enough time with the candidates the last time they chose a city manager and she wanted to make sure they can have unrushed meetings this time.

Alter asked Watson what other similar searches Mosaic had done. He named a variety of positions, including one in San José, California, and one in Seattle. He added that Mosaic was also involved in the search for a new police chief in Austin before Council selected Chief Joseph Chacon. After 25 years with APD, Chacon retired in September of this year. He was interim police chief before being named to the full-time job in April 2021.

Mosaic also helped find city managers in some Texas cities, including Burleson and Lewisville, Watson said. And the firm had assisted Austin in finding a deputy city manager and several assistant city managers since 2018, but he did not name specific individuals.

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