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City Council
Staff Report
From: CAO Committee
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: Human Resources
Meeting Date: October 6, 2025
Report #:2509-5249
TITLE
Approve the selection of Teri Black & Company as the executive recruitment firm for the recruitment of the City Attorney and Approve the Recruitment General Timeline as Recommended by the Council Appointed Officers (CAO) Committee. CEQA status – not a project.
RECOMMENDATION
The Council Appointed Officers Committee (CAO) recommends that Council approve:
1. Teri Black & Co. as the executive recruitment firm for the recruitment of the next City Attorney
2. Approve the general timeline and process for recruitment as outlined and delegate approval of interview process details to the CAO Committee Chair.
BACKGROUND
The City Attorney is one of four Council Appointed Officer positions defined in Article IV of the City Charter and further defined in the Palo Alto Municipal Code, section 2.08.120 which states that the City Attorney is accountable to the City Council. On September 9, 20251, the CAO Committee reviewed initial proposals from three highly qualified executive recruitment firms in order to select a firm for the purpose of recruiting the City’s next City Attorney. Based on review of the proposals and need to ask follow-up questions, the CAO Committee determined it prudent to conduct interviews. The Committee also asked staff to begin drafting the content for the recruitment brochure and gain input from the current City Attorney.
The CAO committee met again on September 22, 20252 to conduct interviews, review draft content for a brochure, and make final selections and provide recommendations to 1 https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=17948 2 https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=18033
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Council. The CAO committee interviewed Bob Murray and Associates and Teri Black & Company. Peckham and McKenney did not make a representative available for interviews.
The CAO committee through these deliberations selected Teri Black & Co. executive recruitment firm to conduct the recruitment process for the selection of the City’s next City Attorney. Furthermore, the committee provided the following guidance on process and advertising preferences:
•Council interviews to occur after stakeholder and subject matter expert interviews; and •To the extent feasible hold Council interviews, panel stakeholder interviews and final round interviews on back-to-back days.
The CAO committee unanimously approved this recommendation to the full Council.
ANALYSIS
The CAO Committee selected Teri Black & Co. (TB&C) to conduct the executive recruitment for the City Attorney as this firm has an extensive understanding of the Palo Alto organization as well as the region. Most recently, TB&C, has successfully recruited placements for City Attorney/Deputy/Assistant City Attorney searches for the Cities of Burlingame, Cupertino, Fremont, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara and the Town of Los Gatos. The proposal submitted by TB&C for this recruitment is attached.
Process and Timeline
RECRUITMENT
STAGES TIMELINE ACTION ITEMS
Recruitment
Pre-Planning
August 2025 -
September 2025
•Review of executive firms recommended
•Review and affirm recruitment process steps and
timeline
•Interviews and selection of executive firm
Recruitment
Planning
September 2025 –
October 2025
•TB&C to conduct stakeholder meetings on
candidate characteristics (Council Members,
Current City Attorney and other CAOs)
•CAO Committee Chair approval of marketing and
advertising materials
•CAO Chair approves final strategy and process
refinement (panel dates, structure, and
sequencing) (TB&C/HR)
Posting and Active
Recruitment
October 2025 –
November 2025
•Marketing and advertising launch (TB&C)
•Targeted and active sourcing begins (TB&C)
•Initial reviews occur on an ongoing basis as
applications received (TB&C)
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RECRUITMENT
STAGES TIMELINE ACTION ITEMS
Candidate
Screening
November 2025 –
December 2025
•Candidate assessments (TB&C)
•Supplemental questionnaires and interviews (TB&C)
•Presentation of recommended top candidates to
Council in closed session (Council will confirm top
candidates invited to interviews) (TB&C/HR)
•Continued and ongoing candidate
engagement (TB&C)
Finalist selection
and negotiation
December 2025 –
January 2026
•Panel interviews: Stakeholder/subject matter
expert panel(s), followed by City Council panel
•Background and reference checks (TB&C)
•Final Interview(s) with Council & authority for
conditional offer (TB&C/HR)
•Conditional offer letter/compensation negotiations
(TB&C/HR)
Onboarding January 2026 –
February 2026
•Appointment by Council
•City onboarding process (HR)
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The City Attorney position is fully funded in the existing FY 2026 Adopted Operating Budget and while the negotiation with a successor over compensation is unknown it is deemed unlikely to impact or increase FY 2026 or FY 2027 costs. One-time costs of up to $37,000 for recruitment services are generally paid for out of department salary savings, however with the City Attorney’s office being fully staffed during this period, staff will monitor mid-year and FY 2026 closing department balances to determine if a budget adjustment to allocate additional funding would be needed to cover these costs or if use of centralized recruiting funds is deemed necessary. Should additional resources be required, staff will bring forward a budget action for the City Council’s review.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Public comment was made during the CAO Committee review on September 9, 2025 and September 22, 2025. Opportunity will also be available when report is on the Council Consent agenda on October 6, 2025.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Executive Recruitment Proposal from Teri Black and Co.
APPROVED BY:
Sandra Blanch, Human Resources Director