Riverbank OKs hiring search firm

RIVERBANK — The City Council decided Monday to hire an executive search firm to find its next city manager.

The council released longtime City Manager Rich Holmer on June 8. He had been city manager for nearly 16 years.

Interim City Manager Pam Carder recommended the council use a search firm because:

• While Riverbank has excellent staff skilled in recruiting employees, recruiting a city manager requires casting a much wider net.

• An executive search team can help council members define the qualities, skills and characteristics they want in a city manager. This can be especially helpful for a city such as Riverbank, which has not had to think about hiring a city manager in more than a decade.

Carder estimated it could cost $20,000 to $30,000 for an executive search firm, though the amount could be higher.

After the meeting, she said she expects to have potential firms for the council to consider at its Aug. 22 meeting.

Council members voted 5-0 to solicit proposals from executive search firms. Several of them said that though it would cost the city to hire a search firm, it was a necessary expense given the importance of hiring the right city manager.

Holmer had been on paid leave since March 30 before he was terminated. He and city officials have declined to say why, though the city has said it will release its investigation of Holmer once it's completed. Carder is a retired government employee and is working part time as interim manager.

In other action:

• Mayor Virginia Madueño said city staff needs to do a better job working with business. She made her remarks after speaking with a Rizo Lopez Foods Inc. executive. The company is relocating the bulk of its operations from Riverbank to Modesto. Madueño said the Rizo Lopez official said Riverbank missed its opportunity to keep the firm.

• The council met in closed session regarding labor negotiations with city employees and the purchase of property at Oakdale and Morrill roads to provide a right of way for eventual road widening and the installation of signals at intersection. The council provided staff with direction on both items.

Bee staff writer Kevin Valine can be reached at kvaline@modbee.com or (209) 578-2316.