If all goes well, the city of Austin could have a new administrator by fall.

The Austin City Council approved a $5,000 consulting contract with former City Administrator Pat McGarvey during a work session Monday to help the city search for a new administrator.

“I think this is the best way to do it,” Mayor Tom Stiehm said. “Pat is working for less than other search firms, and I’m sure the results are going to be just as good, if not better.”

McGarvey will be paid for three to four months’ work, plus mileage and other miscellaneous expenses he incurs, to help city Human Resources Director Tricia Wiechmann “get out there and find some young superstars who will be delighted to come to the city of Austin.”

“I think she’s done an excellent job,” McGarvey said of Wiechmann.

The council also formally approved its decision to continue the search for a new administrator during its meeting Monday.

Council members made the decision to go forward after receiving feedback from residents and city staff, which culminated in a report from department heads who hoped the city would move forward on finding a new city administrator this year, before upcoming elections would potentially replace council members with someone who didn’t understand the situation.

Wiechmann wrote the city needs to have a “strong administrator who can handle day-to-day decisions, make recommendations and provide direction.”

Tom Dankert, the city’s finance director, had taken over city administrator duties over the past few months but had repeatedly signaled he wanted to remain the finance director and urged the council earlier this year to seek out a new city administrator in the long term.

Austin has been without a city administrator since the council fired former city head Jim Hurm in December after a job evaluation found department heads believed Hurm wasn’t doing a good job. The council decided last month to temporarily pause its search to fill the vacant city administrator position earlier this year after city staff said they could operate as-is on a short-term basis.

McGarvey is a former city administrator who left Austin in 2003. He has worked with other cities like Albert Lea and Mason City, Iowa, in similar searches to find city administrators.