Search firms would charge $8K to $50K to find next Oak Ridge city manager

Donna Smith, Oakridger
·3 min read

Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch has called for a special City Council meeting on Monday to consider proposals from seven search firms for finding a new city manager. The proposals range from an estimated $8,350 to $50,000.

The meeting is set for 5 p.m. Monday in the training room of the Municipal Building, 200 S. Tulane Ave. Council members will consider and discuss the proposals and schedule an additional special meeting if they deem it necessary, according to the city's legal notice.

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

Proposals from each of the companies that applied were given to council prior to its Feb. 13 meeting. At the meeting, Watson presented the list of firms publicly.

The Oak Ridger received the proposals - 277 pages - from city government Feb. 23, after submitting a request for the public records Feb. 21. The pages include information on each search firm, introductory letters and examples of their work. Some of the information on the firms, including addresses of main headquarters, are in some cases different than previously published in the newspaper because of more information contained in the proposals.

Search firms Oak Ridge will consider

  • 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, cost estimate could not be determined from proposal.

The proposals from BakerTilly, Strategic Government Resources and Ralph Andersen & Associates included total, all-inclusive fees.

BridgeGroup officials said its fee would not exceed $24,000 or be $20,000 if travel and advertising costs were excluded.

Integrated Design Consulting said the consulting fee would be $8,000, plus $350 for advertising if needed, and travel expenses.

GovHR said travel costs would be added to the $23,500 charge if it was needed.

Integrated Design Consulting helped hire executive directors Beth Shea at Children's Museum of Oak Ridge and Maria Catron at the Oak Ridge Housing Authority, President Suzan Bowman said in IDC's proposal.

Bowman said in a letter to Gooch that she had met him and knew Oak Ridge Police Chief Robin Smith as part of her past work at the Tennessee Valley Authority. She has also worked with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Mercer Group Associates, then called The Mercer Group, was the firm that helped hire Watson and former Oak Ridge Police Chief James "Jim" Akagi. Watson told city council the company's founder Jim Mercer has since died, but is run by other principals in the company. Current members Ellen 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. He and his wife, Jenna, plan to continue to live in Oak Ridge, he said.

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: Search firms for new Oak Ridge manager would charge $8,350 to $50K