Josh Selleck

KILGORE — The Kilgore City Council has hired a consulting firm to seek candidates to replace City Manager Josh Selleck.

Selleck confirmed recently that the search began at his request, and he is assisting the city with the interviewing and hiring process and may help to train the new city manager after the selection is made.

Two firms were interviewed by video conference at a recent council meeting: Government Professional Solutions, based in Gun Barrel City, and Strategic Government Resources, based in Keller.

Council members voted to hire SGR because they have successfully worked with the firm in the past and noted it has a good reputation for helping local entities, including the city of Longview and the Cherokee Water Co., find new staff members.

Lissa Barker, senior vice president of executive recruitment for SGR, told council members they typically receive about 20 final applicants for a position such as city manager.

“We have 43,000 subscribers to our weekly newsletter, and the (city manager) job will be shared there,” Barker said. “We also have over 2,000 visitors to our website every month and over 10,000 visitors to our job board.”

Barker said SGR, whose staff includes former Texas city managers, will screen and interview candidates as well as perform extensive background checks on everything from employment history to criminal history and social media posts.

“I like to say that one city manager can do really well in one city and not do so well in another city if they do not match the culture of that city. That’s why it’s imperative that process allows you guys to find the perfect fit for your organization,” she said. “It will be a nationwide search, and we will begin the candidate vetting process once we begin to receive applicants.”

Selleck has served as city manager since March 2015. Before coming to Kilgore, he was assistant city manager in Cedar Park.

He also previously held positions as director of finance for Cedar Park, director of finance and budget manager for the city of Kerrville and budget analyst for Lubbock.