Bainbridge Island is hoping to restart its search for a new city attorney.

The city council will consider hiring a Bellevue-based consultant next week to conduct the search for a new attorney.

The consultant — Victoria Harris of the executive search firm of Houser Martin Morris — is expected to cost between $35,400 to $44,400 (equal to 30 percent of the hiring salary of the new attorney).

Bainbridge has been without a permanent city attorney since the resignation of Will Patton in November 2012. Jim Haney has since been serving as interim attorney.

City officials initially tried to find a replacement after Patton’s departure, and interviewed several candidates, but came up short in finding someone to fill the position.

When the city previously posted the job, the salary range was set at $110,316 to $138,324 annually.

The position now carries a salary range of $118,000 to $148,000.

The city attorney is responsible for planning, directing and supervising legal services for the city. The city attorney also provides legal counsel to the city manager, city council members, staff and citizen committees and commissions. Other duties include drafting and interpreting city ordinances and resolutions and negotiating contracts and agreements with outside governmental agencies and vendors.

The firm of Houser Martin Morris has helped find staff attorneys for the cities of Seattle and Olympia and the law firms of Foster Pepper and Ogden Murphy.

The company said it expects the search to take about three months from the start of the recruitment process until the final candidate’s acceptance of a job offer.

The Bainbridge Island City Council will review the proposal for hiring the search firm at its study session on Monday, March 3.