Commissioners set to OK search for new city manager at next meeting
Commissioners set to OK search for new city manager at next meeting
Elena Barrera, Tallahassee DemocratFri, May 8, 2026 at 9:01 AM UTC
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Commissioners set to OK search for new city manager at next meeting
The city could be starting the search for its new city manager as early as next week.
Commissioners are poised to green light the recruitment process at the May 13 commission meeting, which would launch an extensive process to pick the next head of the capital city.
"The proposed schedule anticipates completion of the recruitment process within approximately sixteen weeks, including active recruitment, candidate screening, finalist interviews, and candidate selection," city agenda materials say.
The agenda item comes a little over a week after City Manager Reese Goad announced his intent to retire. Goad told the Tallahassee Democrat in an exclusive interview that the "timing is really good" for personal and professional things happening in his life.
His tenure will end Sept. 30 – or once the commission appoints a replacement.
And it's possible that despite a national search, commissioners could choose to promote one of Goad's current assistants, such as his second-in-command, Deputy City Manager Karen Jumonville.
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It's happened before: Commissioners eschewed such headhunting in 1997, for example, when they picked then-Senior Assistant City Manager Anita Favors for the top job. As one sitting commissioner put it, she was the "diamond ... already in the back yard.”
Nonetheless, to help find the next city manager to oversee nearly 3,000 positions, the city is considering two head hunting agencies to conduct the nationwide search: S. Renée Narloch & Associates and Ad-Vance.
The firms each provided their search plans as well as their fees to do so:
S. Renée Narloch & Associates would charge nearly $25,000 plus whatever additional costs, with expenses expected to not exceed $4,500.
Ad-Vance's cut would equate to 15% of the new manager's "first year annual total compensation."
"Based on experience, qualifications, and price, staff recommends hiring S. Renée Narloch & Associates," the agenda materials say.
How will the recruitment process work?
Both S. Renée Narloch & Associates and Ad-Vance suggested similar approaches to selecting a new manager. Here's the outline of the process as listed in the agenda item:
The process would start by the companies interviewing the mayor, commissioners and other key city officials to learn what job duties and responsibilities are expected from the position. The interviews also help them familiarize themselves the city’s leadership, community, institutions and cultural activities.
Based on the city interviews, a recruitment profile would be developed as a guide for the process. The profile would include some detail about the community and city, describing its strengths, challenges and issues, as well as outline the qualifications necessary or desirable for candidates being considered.
The position will be nationally advertised on websites such as the International City/County Management Association, The National League of Cities, the Florida League of Cities and more to "provide maximum exposure to the position."
In addition to the job posting, the companies will be actively recruiting to identify "highly qualified candidates for the position, including the invitation to apply from the recruitment firm to professionals who are believed to be a good fit for the position."
All applications will then be processed and screened against the criteria in the position profile.
Initial reference checks, background checks and verification of education credentials will follow.
Resumes and applications of all candidates will be provided to the commission.
A short list of the top candidates recommended by the recruitment company will also be provided to commissioners.
Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee to begin search for new city manager
Source: “AOL Money”
