Council Appointed Officers Committee
Staff Report
Report Type: ACTION ITEM
Lead Department: Human Resources
Meeting Date: September 9, 2025
Report #:2508-5124
TITLE
Executive recruitment process review for Council Appointed Officer (City Attorney) including recommendation of executive recruitment firm and feedback on overall process.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommend that the Council Appointed Officers Committee recommend City Council approve selection of an executive recruitment firm and the recruitment process and general timeline.
BACKGROUND
This position is one of the four Council Appointed Officer roles defined in Article IV of the City’s Charter. The position is further defined in the Palo Alto Municipal Code:
2.08.120 Office and duties of the city attorney.
(a) The office of the city attorney shall be under the direction of a city attorney who shall be accountable to the city council. The duties of the city attorney shall be as follows:
(1) To advise the council, the city manager, boards, commissions and all officers and departments of the city on all matters of law;
(2) To draft, or assist in the drafting of, all ordinances, resolutions, agreements, and contracts to be made or entered into by the city, and approve the form of such instruments; (3) To prosecute all violators of city ordinances and to represent the city in all actions at law; (4) To have authority to appoint deputies and assistants in accordance with control procedures for that purpose and administered by the department of human resources; provided, that the appointment of the chief assistant city attorney shall be approved by at least a majority of the council;
(5) To defend any officer or employee of the city in any action arising out of the performance of the official duties of such officer or employee;
(6) To perform such other duties as may be required by the Charter or as the council may require.
(Ord. 5494 § 2 (part), 2020: Ord. 5427 § 1, 2018: Ord. 4274 § 1 (part), 1995) The current employment agreement provides a base salary of $365,266 and a benefits package consistent with the Management Compensation Plan1. This amount has been adjusted annually through the Council Appointed Officers annual performance review process. Council Appointed Officers are offered a 401 (a) deferred compensation plan, a benefit unique to Council Appointed Officers.
ANALYSIS
Executive Recruitment Proposals
To ensure a competitive and high-quality process, staff solicited proposals from multiple experienced and knowledgeable executive recruitment firms with proven success in placing council appointees and senior municipal executives.
Proposal highlights include:
Executive
Recruitment Firm
Recent Placements Assigned Recruiter Cost
Bob Murray and
Assoc.
•City Attorney Livermore, CA
(active)
•Chief Public Defender County of
Dallas, TX
•City Attorney Ventura, CA
•General Counsel ACC Transit
District
•County Counsel Monterey, CA
Valerie Gaeta Phillips/
Gary Phillips
$39,000
Peckham and
McKenney
•City Attorney & Assistant
Brentwood, CA
•City Attorney Marina, CA
•County Counsel Napa, CA
•Chief Assistant City Attorney
Pasadena, CA
•City Attorney Redding, CA
Roberta Greathouse $30,000
Teri Black and Co. •Mountain View, CA
•Fremont, CA
•San Mateo, CA
•Cupertino, CA
•Burlingame, CA
$37,000
1 City Council Meeting December 09, 2024, Agenta Item #17, Employment agreements 8 0
7 7
Full proposals for each firm, including full list of recent placements, bios, and methodology, can be found in attachments A.
Recruiter fees are generally in the range of $30,000-$40,000, plus reimbursable expenses such as advertising, background checks, and candidate travel (if applicable).
Staff are currently aware of active recruitments for City Attorneys in the City of Morgan Hill, Livermore, Los Banos, and Milpitas and for Assistant City Attorneys in Burbank, Antioch, San Mateo, and Los Angeles.
Executive Recruitment Process and Timeline
Typical executive recruitments take approximately 4-6 months. Below is the recommended process and timeline:
Recruitment Stages Timeline Action Items
Planning and Candidate
Profile Development
4-6 weeks •Selection of executive firm by CAO Committee •Stakeholder interviews and development of
marketing materials, including job brochure
•Facilitated feedback on ideal candidate
characteristics
•Review and affirm recruitment process steps
and timeline, including firm dates for
interviews.
Advertising and Sourcing 4-5 weeks •Job posted on City’s Page, NEOGOV, and Careers in Government
•Executive recruiter posts on their site, sends
mailers, conducts active sourcing calls of
known qualified candidates
•Paid advertising on specific job boards,
CalCities, Cal-ICMA, CALPELRA, industry pages,
and other associations.
Candidate Review and
Screening
3-4 weeks •Executive recruiter screens all applicants to determine best qualified
•Conducts supplemental questionnaires,
screening, and interviews with best qualified.
•Recommendation to Council on candidates
best qualified and compensation discussed in
closed session. Council deliberates and
provides Recruiter with Not-to-Exceed amount
for salary negotiations when finalists
identified.
Candidate Selection 3-4 weeks •Panel interviews with Council and stakeholders •Final round interview with Mayor and other
CAOs
Onboarding and
Pre-Employment
3-4 weeks •Conditional Offer sent to top candidate
•Reference and background conducted by
executive recruitment firm
•Staff report brought to full Council on Action
calendar for review and appointment to
position
•Final Offer letter sent after appointment
•Internal onboarding process begins
If recommendations within this report are approved and moved by this committee, staff would seek to bring the CAO Committee recommendation to the City Council on the September 29, 2025 consent agenda.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Executive Recruitment Proposal from Bob Murray and Assoc Attachment B: Executive Recruitment Proposal from Peckham and McKenney Attachment C: Executive Recruitment Proposal from Teri Black and Co.
APPROVED BY:
Sandra Blanch, Human Resources Director