The search is on for Medford’s new city manager.

On Jan. 11, Medford City Council signaled that a nationwide recruiting firm known as Strategic Government Resources based in Texas edged out three other firms.

SGR, which has experience hiring in Oregon, offered a bid not to exceed $27,150 and could provide candidates for the city to review within three months after the contract is signed.

Current City Manager Brian Sjothun is retiring at the end of the year.

A former director of Medford Parks and Recreation, Sjothun became city manager in 2016 after a contentious 14-month search by the council.

Last year, the council gave Sjothun a salary hike from $185,640 a year, plus benefits, to $201,720 a year to cover his final 18 months.

City Councilor Tim D’Alessandro said he was surprised at the low bid prices submitted by the executive recruitment firms.

“This is very inexpensive compared to some of the contracts I’ve entered into,” he said.

Mayor Randy Sparacino said he was expecting bids of $50,000 to $60,000.

SGR wasn’t the cheapest bid, but the councilors thought the company offered the best range of services.

Councilors didn’t support a protracted process to select the recruiting company, preferring to stay away from grading firms as it has done in the past.

“I don’t want to go through the Kabuki theater of giving someone a 10 or a 5,” Councilor Kevin Stine said.

Stine said the cost differences between the bids amounted to a few thousand here or there.

Most of the council seemed to prefer the contract proposal submitted by SGR as being clear and detailed.

Councilor Sarah Spansail expressed a preference for Jensen Strategies, saying SGR seemed to have less experience in Oregon.

Spansail said Jensen has a track record in the state and is also an Oregon-based company.

Jensen’s recruitment fee is $28,000, and its timeline to finish the recruitment process would be four months.

Sparacino said, “I would rate SGR over Jensen.”

He said starting early in the recruitment process gives the city time in case a city manager candidate drops out because of another job offer.

D’Alessandro said he would give a slight edge to Jensen, but thought SGR had a “strong proposal.”

With City Council supporting SGR, the city manager can sign the contract with SGR without getting formal council approval because of the contract’s low dollar amount.

The council originally hoped to find a firm that would provide a hybrid recruitment that also involved the city’s Human Resources Department.

None of the firms wanted a hybrid model because that would nullify a “guarantee” that the candidate selected would be a good fit for the city. In circumstances where the candidate isn’t a good fit, the recruiting firm would find a replacement during a one-year period.

If the recruiting firm finds a candidate willing to start as soon as possible, Sjothun said he’d be willing to step aside before the end of the year to make way for the new city manager.

“It would be totally, totally awkward for me to still be here after the person comes in,” he said.

Sjothun offered to help with special projects if the council needed him after his retirement.