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Mike Rankin, who has been Tucson’s city attorney since 2004, will be retiring from his post in September.

As city attorney, Rankin is the council’s legal advisor and leads the office, which includes civil and criminal divisions, as well as the police department’s legal advisor’s office.

Rankin has a total of 33 years’ experience with the city.

“I always say it’s the honor and privilege of my life to work as the city attorney in the city where I grew up, and the city that means so much to me,� he said. “I will always feel that way, whatever happens next.�

No action on the process to replace Rankin was taken by the city council during its meeting Tuesday, but the first step will be to choose an executive recruiting firm, said Teri Traaen, the city’s Human Resources director.

The recruiting processes typically take about 10 to 12 weeks, but it could take up to 16 weeks depending upon the city council’s preferences, Traaen said at the meeting. The city has up to five executive recruiting firms it could tap, and five to seven candidates are typically screened by the recruiter.

Rankin said when he was appointed in 2004, a recruiting firm was used, although he was hired internally. That recruitment process started as a nationwide search, he said, but it eventually was whittled down to candidates within the state.

If the recruitment goes beyond that timeline, Rankin said the council would be able to appoint a chief deputy city attorney to fill the role in an interim capacity.

Councilman Paul Cunningham said during the meeting that using one of the recommended recruitment firms would cost the city about $34,000.