HALLOWELL — City officials began their search for a new city manager during a special City Council meeting Thursday, launching what will likely be a monthslong process with a hiring consultant to replace current City Manager Gary Lamb, who will leave his post in June.

Lamb announced his resignation last month during a weekend City Council work session, and the council approved his resignation earlier this month. The city hired Don Gerrish, an Eaton Peabody municipal consultant, to complete the search. Gerrish has 15 years of experience conducting searches for municipal leaders, and worked for almost 30 years as town manager of Gorham and Brunswick.

Gerrish is also under contract to search for new managers for Waterville, Bangor and Harrison.

Gary Lamb Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file

The search for Lamb’s replacement is expected to take about three months, Gerrish said, using both nationwide and New England-based city manager groups to advertise the position. But that timeline is dependent on finding the right candidate — a feat that has become less certain in recent years, Gerrish said.

Though Gerrish said almost all of his searches have ended after the first round of applications, the city of Lewiston conducted a second round before finding the candidate they eventually hired.

“We are not getting the numbers and quality of applicants that we have in the past for these types of positions,” he said. “I’m not saying we won’t here, but it has been not as productive for the last few that we’ve done.”

Finding the right candidate, especially when advertising the position widely, can depend on the compensation Hallowell decides to offer, Gerrish said. He recommended the city’s hiring advertisement show a potential range of pay from $105,000 to $135,000 to be competitive with nearby towns and cities.

Lamb, hired in 2021, receives a $100,000 salary. But the rural Knox County town of Union, with 300 fewer people than Hallowell, hired a manager last year for a $115,000 salary at the end of Gerrish’s search. Neighboring Augusta hired a new manager last year at a salary of $159,099.

Ward 5 Councilor Lauren McPherson said she wanted the pay range to be shifted down substantially from Gerrish’s proposal — closer to $90,000 to $110,000 — to help prevent further tax increases and to more accurately reflect the size and population of Hallowell.

“I realize it has to be competitive, but Augusta is 58 square miles with 19,000 people, and their city manager got $160,000 last year,” McPherson said. “So I do feel like $130,000, $135,000 is pretty steep for the size of (Hallowell) versus (Augusta).”

At-Large Councilor Scott Cooper disagreed with McPherson. He said lowering the top end of the pay spectrum by that much could weed out candidates who are better for the job — especially when quality candidates are becoming more difficult to find.

“I’m not worried about saying $200,000 because it’s still our decision,” Cooper said. “We’re just trying to get a pool of people that we can then interview. I don’t want to say something that we wouldn’t do, but I want to keep the pool as big as possible.”

Residents in the audience also said they were concerned about the advertised pay scale. John McNaughton — who has often advocated for the City Council to cut spending since it passed a budget that raised property taxes by 20% last summer — said the pay scale should be lowered to account for potential younger applicants just out of college who might demand a lesser salary.

Gerrish said such a scenario is unlikely, but that he would assess all applications and pass along every resume to City Council members for consideration.

“I have never had, in my 15 years, had someone right out of college apply,” Gerrish said. “I will just tell you that. It just doesn’t happen. One reason is they just don’t want to get into this profession. It’s just the nature of it.”

City Council members eventually decided on a $95,000 to $130,000 pay scale — the higher end of which, Mayor George Lapointe said, was reflective of Hallowell being a “demanding town” for managers.

Cheryl DeRaps, a Ward 5 resident, questioned Lapointe’s argument.

“Why are we such a demanding city?” DeRaps said. “Maybe we ought to take a look at that.”