Agenda - Council - 03/27/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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6. Mr. Pederson stated Mercer Group has more depth in terms of their experience. He does not know if there is anyone in the country who has as much local government executive search experience as Jim Mercer. The emphasis of Mercer Group is on direct sourcing. This is a labor intensive part of what they do, but it has produced a track record that is second to none in terms of finding successful candidates. Incidentally, he does not know whether there are any other firms that provide the guarantee provided by Mercer Group that if a placement does not stay with the city for a minimum of two years Mercer Group will do another search to find another individual at no cost other than expenses. 7. Mr. Pederson stated he has not been in a process personally that did not work well. The process Mercer Group goes through is a tried and true process. He was involved in one that went sideways, but there was nothing Mercer Group could have done. The City Council simply changed its mind in the middle of the process and decided to appoint a local person, and canceled the search. 8. Mr. Pederson stated the average tenure is well over the national average, which is about five years. Placements by Mercer Group get closer to eight years. 9. Mr. Pederson asked if it is relatively easy to put a meeting together when there is a need to meet with the entire Council. Mayor Gamec replied yes. The Council averages at least one meeting per week and feels this is a very important issue. Closing Comments from Mayor Mayor Gamec thanked Mr. Pederson for his time. He indicated the Council will try to make a decision tonight. He asked if there have been many people placed by Mercer Group in Minnesota or the Midwest. Mr. Pederson replied Mound and Minnetonka were the last two cities where Mercer Group completed a placement in Minnesota. Waters Consulting Group Introduction by Mayor Mayor Gamec explained the interview process, which will include a presentation by the executive search firm and prepared questions from the Council. Presentation Andrea Sims, Waters Consulting Group, provided a brief presentation on the company and the company's interest in conducting a city manager /administrator search for the City of Ramsey. 1. Ms. Sims stated the individual for a high growth community should have been in a high growth community. Different communities have different aspects. Some focus on economic development, some on redevelopment, and some are just tying to keep things as they should be. What Waters Consulting Group does when dealing with a growing community is to look for people who are high energy and have development experience. If the individual has City Council Work Session / February 6, 2007 Page 10 of 14