Merced close to new attorney; manager searches ongoing in Los Banos, Livingston

The Merced City Council is down to two candidates for the city attorney’s position, while the search for a city manager rolls on in Los Banos and Livingston, according to officials.

Merced’s elected officials have gone through two rounds of interviews to fill the attorney job, according to City Manager Steve Carrigan. He declined to name the two finalists.

Carrigan said the council hopes to pick one next week and begin the negotiations for salary and benefits. “Hopefully, we’ll pick one and get started,” Carrigan said. “We’ll see what the council says.”

The deadline for the Merced job was extended at the end of last year to garner more applicants. The consulting firm, Roseville-based Bob Murray and Associates, is the same company the city used to find Carrigan.

The salary of the new city attorney will be based on his or her qualifications, according to the brochure that promoted the job. Former City Attorney Randolph Hom, who left for a higher-paying position in Cupertino, made $180,000 in Merced, according to his contract.

On the west side of the county, Los Banos’ City Council hired Rocklin-based Ralph Andersen and Associates to help its search for a city manager. That search is set to remain open through March 14.

Los Banos is looking to fill the hole left when Carrigan moved to the Merced job.

Police Chief Gary Brizzee is the interim city manager and has some experience in that role. He served as the interim for six months before the city hired Carrigan in April 2013.

Brizzee’s pay increased to $12,505 per month from $11,547 while he serves in the interim spot, officials said.

Also in need of a city manager is Livingston, which has not opened the search yet.

“We just want to make sure that we do it right,” Councilman Gurpal Samra said. “We’re getting ready to get with the consultant on the process we want to use.”

Santa Cruz’s William Avery and Associates is supposed to take a second go at finding a Livingston city manager, Samra said. The firm helped the city find Eddie Duque, who left $140,000-salary job in December after two months as the top administrator.

The firm will do another search because the last manager did not stay for at least two years, a common clause in executive search company contracts. There will not be an additional fee, but the city must cover any additional expenses.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Merced close to new attorney; manager searches ongoing in Los Banos, Livingston."