Hinesville City Council has hired a search firm to find its next city manager.

Council members unanimously approved a contract with Mercer Group Associates to find the successor to Kenneth Howard, who announced his retirement earlier this month after eight years as city manager and more than 30 years with the city.

Mercer Group’s goal is to have a city manager finalist selected within 90 days of the city giving it the notice to proceed for the contract.

Under the contract’s provisions, Mercer Group will conduct an initial screening of the most promising candidates. Alan Reddish and Lisa Ward from Mercer Group will be conducting the search. Through phone and video interviews and reference checks, Reddish and Ward will winnow the field of candidates down to a field of five to seven, based on their educational background, technical knowledge, experience, management style and personality traits.

A summary of those resumes will be provided to council members to see if the remaining candidates match council’s expectations. The city council will be asked to select four to five semi-finalists for extensive background checks, which Mercer will conduct.

Should none of those candidates meet the council members’ parameters, Mercer will restart the search at no additional cost to the city.

Additional references of any semi-finalists will be checked, and Mercer also will conduct a review of candidates’ social media and internet activity. Background check, reference check and social media search results on each candidate will be shared with council members in a written report before interviews are conducted.

In-person interviews with the semi-finalists may include panels of professional peers and department directors, along with interviews with the city council.

If the city council asks, Mercer also may assist in negotiations with a final candidate on an employment agreement, to include salary, benefits and other employment conditions. The city council will have final approval on any employment agreement.

Mercer Group has conducted city manager/ administrator or assistant city manager/administrator searches for Richmond Hill, Tifton, Valdosta, Roswell, Brunswick, Cartersville and Jesup, among others. It also has led searches for county managers/administrators or the assistants in those positions for Glynn County, Hall County, Bryan County and Liberty County.

The city will pay Mercer Group $17,500 for the search.