Missouri City officials will use a professional recruiting firm to fill the vacant public works director seat to better the chances of finding a suitable candidate. The City Council voted July 18 to authorize City Manager Anthony Snipes to hire an outside firm for no more than $27,000. Missouri City has been actively trying to fill the position since June 2015, Assistant City Manager Scott Elmer said. A search conducted by the city’s Human Resources Director Edward Williams produced two candidates for interviews, but Elmer said staff felt neither candidate was suitable. “This seems to be, in our opinion, one of the best ways to get a large pool of quality candidates in a relatively short amount of time,” Elmer said. Council Member Yolanda Ford disagreed with staff’s request to hire an outside firm and said the city should give Williams another chance to find more candidates. She and Council Member Chris Preston voted against the authorization. “I think for $27,000 we can let Edward try this again,” she said. Elmer said the money will come from the vacant salaries fund and will not be a new budget allocation. Missouri City has used professional recruiters for its last six executive searches including Snipes, who came to the city from Austin last year. Mayor Allen Owen said recruiters have resources and ample time to find applicants from all around the country, while Edwards and his staff do not. “In this particular case, we’re sitting here with a job that is critical to this city,” Owen said. “Public works is a huge piece of our budget, and if we don’t get the right person in here to help us do the right things then we’re going to be wasting more money as we wait until we think the right person comes along and applies with Edward.” The public works director is responsible for overseeing the city’s water, sewer and wastewater treatment services. The department also maintains geographic information system applications, sidewalks, traffic control devices and provides animal control services, among other responsibilities. The department is also lacking an assistant director, city engineer, utilities manager and GIS specialist. Each position has been vacant from four to 12 months, Elmer said. He also told council that conducting an in-house search would still cost at least $10,000 for subscriptions to professional services, such as Linkedin.com, and other expenses. Council Member Jerry Wyatt previously worked in human resources and recommended using a recruiter to expand the candidate field. “We use search firms for a reason,” he said. “Edward cannot go get these people. He can recruit on a routine basis if they apply.”