Oak Ridge will narrow down search firm candidates in quest to find new city manager; meeting postponed until March 6

Donna Smith, Oakridger
·2 min read

In its search for a new city manager, Oak Ridge City Council will narrow the list of search firms from seven to three on Friday afternoon. It heard initial presentations from each organization Feb. 27.

City Manager Mark Watson announced at the Jan. 17 city council meeting that he would retire on May 5.

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch has called for a special council meeting from 4 to 6 p.m. March 3 in the Municipal Building training room. Each council member has been instructed to rank their top three search firms at Friday's meeting. The votes will be compiled and a top three selected. (Editor's note: The meeting was postponed until 7:30 a.m. March 6 because of expected inclement weather on March 3.)

Gooch said council will host another meeting to interview each of the top three search firms.

Representatives from the seven search firms were given 15 minutes to make a presentation to council Monday night. The officials spoke to council through online, live video presentations but could not answer questions per the rules set for the meeting by city officials. Six of the seven council members were present, and council member Sean Gleason attended online because of a business trip.

The search firms and their presentations

Representatives from these seven search firms presented. This list includes the location of the company's headquarters and an estimated cost for conducting the search.

  • Ralph Andersen & Associates, Rocklin, California, $50,000

  • BakerTilly US, Plano, Texas, $26,950

  • Strategic Government Resources, Kellar, Texas, $24,900

  • GovHR USA, Northbrook, Illinois, $23,500

  • BridgeGroup LLC management consultants, Tucson, Arizona, a strategic partner for Mercer Group Associates, $24,000

  • Integrated Design Consulting, Knoxville, $8,350

  • SoftSages doing business as SoftSages Technology, Malvern, Pennsylvania, an amount to reportedly be calculated by a percentage of the new city manager's salary

"It is a very competitive market," said Joellen Cademartori, co-owner of GovHR. "Candidates are in hot demand, especially those with direct experience."

"This is the most important decision this council is going to make - period," said Ralph Burg, executive vice president for Ralph Andersen & Associates.

Anthony Merulla, SoftSages vice president of sales and marketing, said his company would be using artificial intelligence (AI) in some interviews to read body language, which would eliminate human bias and error.

Council member Ellen Smith described the proposed costs as "reasonable, ballpark costs," while member Jim Dodson said the $50,000 proposed by Ralph Andersen & Associates was OK considering the importance and scope of the work.

Mercer Group Associates, then called The Mercer Group, was the firm that helped hire Watson and former Oak Ridge Police Chief James "Jim" Akagi. Smith and Charlie Hensley were on council when those selections were made.

Watson has served as city manager in Oak Ridge for more than 12 years. Burg said the current average tenure for city managers is three to three-and-a-half years.

The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Email her at dsmith@oakridger.com and follow her on Twitter@ridgernewsed. Support The Oak Ridger by subscribing. Offers available at https://subscribe.oakridger.com/offers.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Oak Ridge Council to narrow field of city manager search firms to 3