The Discovery Bay CSD has agreed to pay a search firm approximately $24,000 to recruit a new general manager.

CSD President Ray Tetreault was given authorization by the board at the July 1 regular CSD meeting to contract with CPS Human Resource Services.

“We’ve hired a very professional company,” said Tetreault, “A real soup-to-nuts organization; they do it all. What I liked about CPS is that they also have an HR (human resources) element to them aside from the recruiting, and I believe that will be very helpful.”

The contract, signed by Tetreault on July 6, is a fixed-price agreement, which comprises service fee charges of $16,450 including expenses. Incidental expenses, which are described in the contract as lodging, parking, meals, mailing costs and other extras, are estimated to be between $6,500 and $8,000. Mileage is extra and will be billed at the current IRS-approved rate of 55 cents per mile.

According to CPS Project Manager Pam Derby, the Sacramento-based firm will begin working closely with the CSD board over the next few weeks to develop an employee profile for the new general manager.

“We’re just beginning the kick-off process, and what that involves is speaking with each board member about what is going to be important to them in a general manager, and then at some point we will meet collectively,” said Derby, who added that the average timetable to fill a GM position is about four months. “After that, we’ll begin the outreach process.”

Derby also said that potential salary and benefit packages have not yet been discussed, but will be determined once a more solid profile is created.

The town’s current general manager, Virgil Koehne, has agreed to step down once a new GM is chosen, but will remain on board as the town’s water and sewer manager.

“I love that area (water and wastewater management),” said Koehne in an earlier interview. “It’s my expertise and it’s what I enjoy doing. I’m definitely interested in that end of things.”

The move to hire a new general manager is part of an overall restructuring of the district’s management staff, and will include not only the hiring of a new general manager, but possibly a new landscaping director and office manager.

“The CSD has changed from having just a GM handling all the items to the larger operation it is today,” Tetreault recently told the Press. “One man just can’t do all this (anymore).”