BREMERTON — The Bremerton City Council is considering hiring McClure Consulting to lobby for infrastructure funds on behalf of the city. The firm, led by Mary McClure, would fill the void left when the city opted to leave the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council.

The city was given six months to reconsider its decision. It will officially be out of the KRCC in November, although it hasn’t been an active member since voting to leave in May after a long dispute over the group’s voting structure.

The purpose of the KRCC is to help cities and groups in Kitsap County compete for transportation funding and develop countywide plans.

The agreement with McClure has a maximum payout of $60,000. The figure is based on an expected average level of consultant effort of 6 hours per week at $120 per hour.

The contract was never put out to bid — it was only offered to McClure.

Council members Roy Runyon and Leslie Daugs took exception to this, saying it doesn’t show due diligence or transparency on the city’s behalf.

“How do we know this is the best firm and the lowest bidder?” asked Runyon. “I’d like to see us as least put an RFQ (request for quotation) out to any other qualified firms out there who can do this work.”

Public Works Director Chal Martin said McClure was considered for her experience and familiarity with Bremerton.

“We know Mary. We know her from her experience,” Martin said. “This is sort of a specialized skill-set here.”

He also said hiring McClure instead of putting the contract out to bid would save the city time and allow McClure to begin work sooner.

The contract’s scope of work, as defined in the current proposal, calls for McClure to perform four tasks:

• Consultant will assist the City in identifying and pursuing capital project funding.

• Consultant will assist with regional partnership efforts.

• Consultant will assist with marketing Bremerton.

• Consultant will assist the Mayor, Council, and staff by providing up-to-date information to the City’s representatives in preparation for the various Puget Sound Regional Council meetings.

City Council President Greg Wheeler has concerns about the broad nature of the scope of work, particularly the marketing aspect, which asks McClure to assist with the city’s “Move to Bremerton” campaign. The campaign is an effort to convince people who work in Seattle to live in Bremerton.

“I have no idea what her skill-set is as far as that goes,” Wheeler said. “The contract’s just way too broad.”

Wheeler would like McClure to focus her energy on economic development projects instead.

The city council will continue its discussions regarding the contract at its next meeting Oct. 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the Norm Dicks Building in Bremerton.