The city council has been holding closed sessions--the most recent on April 23 at 8:30 a.m.--regarding interviews for the position. Because the meetings are closed to the public, city spokesman John Pilger said he does not have details on how far along in the process the city is.

The search was originally planned to end between May and June.

An ad-hoc committee consisting of Vice Mayor Ron Swegles and council members John Howe and Otto Lee began meeting at the end of October to discuss the attorney search. Applications for the position were due by Feb. 25.

Borger began acting as city attorney when Armento left office after a contract dispute with the city. Then-Mayor Howe said Armento approached the counsel

wanting to resign, but Armento maintains it was the council that wanted her contract severed.

According to Pilger, the city received 19 applications, all from people within California. Sacramento search-firm CPS Executive Search accepted and screened the applicants prior to the council interviews.

While the city cannot release exact salary figures, city attorneys in Sunnyvale are supposed to earn 90 percent of the city manager's salary of almost $200,000 a year. That figure is for salary alone. With benefits added, the amount could be close to $250,000.