The ICMA Senior Advisor program (formerly Range Rider Program *) is a joint activity of ICMA and state sponsors established by the ICMA Executive Board in 1974 to make the counsel, experience, and support of respected, retired managers of the profession available to members. Currently 114 Senior Advisors in 30 states provide a highly valued service by volunteering their time to offer confidential professional and personal support and advice.

Senior Advisors are selected jointly by the state sponsor and the ICMA Executive Director. Although they are expected to be visible, accessible and responsive to members and association needs, Senior Advisors are unpaid volunteers who pursue other activities while in retirement and thus are not “full time.” Expenses are shared by ICMA and the sponsoring state organization. The expenses allocated depend on the size of the state, the number of Senior Advisors and funds available from the sponsors.

Senior Advisors are available to meet periodically with members in their states or areas to discuss the profession and their concerns as members. Discussion topics range from relations with elected officials, overall management questions, relations with ICMA, responses to local controversies such as referenda on the council-manager plan, to career development.

Senior Advisors are friends, colleagues, and advisors to the profession—not consultants. The Senior Advisor program is designed to help with personal and professional issues, not to provide technical assistance or solve substantive problems in a local government. However, Senior Advisors may consult with local governments as individuals, on a part-time basis, as long as the consulting does not impair the effectiveness of the Senior Advisors. Senior Advisor guidelines contain advice for Senior Advisors who do part-time consulting.

Senior Advisors may also help communities interested in creating a professional local government management position, including adoption of council-manager government.

Members with questions on the Senior Advisor program can contact Senior Advisor Program Coordinator, Pam Brangaccio at (727) 204-8095 or e-mail pbrangaccio@icma.org.

Guidelines Manual Roster

*2013-2014 Program Review

As part of a review of the program in its 40th year, the ICMA Executive Board, in February 2014, approved changing the name from Range Riders to Senior Advisors to better describe the role and its primary emphasis on providing members with advice and support.

First Steps

Before a professional manager or administrator can be hired, a local government’s structure of government must be modified to provide for the position. The process of creating a position of manager or administrator can vary from state to state.

• Some local governments have the authority to act on their own initiative to adopt local ordinances, laws, or resolutions to create the position of a manager or administrator who is appointed by the elected governing body.
• In states where local governments may write their own charter under home-rule provisions, a number of communities take advantage of that opportunity to create a professional manager or administrator position. 
• Some states have enacted statutes that provide for alternative forms or optional charters that local governments can adopt to establish an appointed manager or administrator position.
• In some states, structural change can take place by obtaining charters through special legislation adopted by the state legislative body.  

Consider your community’s unique demands and needs

Many professional local government managers and administrators have earned an advanced degree and have held positions of increasing authority. 

• Beyond the basic education and experience required by the position, the community's elected officials should develop a job description that outlines their expectations and measurable objectives. 
• Elected officials should also develop a profile of the kind of manager or administrator who will best serve their community's needs.

ICMA can help your local government facilitate this process. The organization's Recruitment Guidelines for Selecting a Local Government Administrator is a definitive resource that contains tips on recruiting applicants, determining finalists, and interviewing techniques.

Begin the search

• Determine whether elected officials will conduct their own search or work with an executive recruitment firm.
• Prepare and place advertisements in publications that will attract the most qualified candidates, such as ICMA's e-newsletter, Leadership Matters; the ICMA JobCenter; and state association publications.

Make the selection

• Review resumes and identify potential candidates based on their experience and established criteria.
• Select the top candidates and schedule interviews with the evaluation panel.
• Once a decision has been reached, negotiate the terms and conditions of employment with the new manager or administrator and formalize a written agreement.
• Finally, at this time, it is important to develop mutually agreed-upon goals and establish an annual review process through which the elected body and the manager or administrator can discuss performance.

Downloads

Recruitment Guidelines for Selecting a Local Government Administrator