An Executive Search firm is being brought in to find a new hire for the position of City Manager in Melville.

Two firms responded to a Request for Proposal sent out by the City in December – Human Edge and Raven Hill Group.

City Council decided to enlist Raven Hill Group to help them gather candidates, interview them, and aid in the final decision.

The contract is approximately $24-thousand, and the City hopes to have the new City Manager in place by June.

“Sometimes there are people that can come within 30 days but generally that is not the case. Generally this person has a position somewhere else, there’s a giving of notice of termination, and then the relocation, so I think it’s probably a 6-month process, perhaps more.” said Melville Mayor Walter Streelasky.

Streelasky says they’ll have a special council meeting with a Raven Hill representative next Wednesday to start the process.

“We’ll work together to develop criteria – look at our expectations, look at what we’re offering – and then the search begins.”

Chris Bruce is filling in on an interim basis after the previous City Manager, Ron McCullough, was let go last October.