Council votes to change staff responsibilities, add a handful of new positions

By Ralph Pokorny

Nevada Daily Mail

Tuesday night the Nevada City Council voted 3-1 to give preliminary approval to a proposal from city manager Bill McGuire to change several employees job classification, change two part-time positions to full-time and add two or three new employees.

Councilmembers Bill Edmonds, Tim Wells and Mike Hutchens voted for the measure and Bill Gillette voted no. Russ Kemm was absent.

These changes will cost the city an additional $80,000 to $100,000 per year which is already in the 2007 budget, Bill McGuire, city manager, told the council.

McGuire told the council that although he does not have all of the new job descriptions worked out yet, he would like to have the council approve the changes Tuesday night so if they give it final approval during the May 15 council meeting the city would be able to make the changes effective June 1.

It has been about one year since the city eliminated 24 jobs. This was a difficult decision for the city manager and for the council members, Gillette said.

"We were told that it had to be done, because that was the only way the city's budget would balance. Without having seen any new revenue sources and without seeing the job descriptions, I don't feel we should move on this," Gillette said.

McGuire told the council that the changes he is now proposing would add an one person to the human resources department to do the administrative work that is currently taking up 80 percent of human resources director Randy Marti's time. This will free him up to take on additional managerial duties.

McGuire said that he is proposing to add two or possibly three administrative support positions to the administrative services area so the city can make improvements to the city's Web site, as well as improvements in human relations and purchasing. He said that he is also proposing to change a receptionist and accounting position from part-time to full-time.

Most of these positions will be filled through transfers or promotions of existing employees, he said.

"In order to improve management accountability and reporting structure we are proposing to broaden the scope of responsibility of the Human Resources Director to include other administrative services such as overseeing the functions of information technology, purchasing, customer relations and the airport," McGuire said.

He said that he is also proposing that the economic development-planning director position be changed to community development director.

"This position will assume project management duties in addition to managing the city's economic development, planning and code enforcement efforts," he said.

This move will free Mark Mitchell, the city's IT director, to work on the Web site and other internet related matters, he said.

Currently Mitchell is spending most of his time managing various projects for the city.

"I don't think the city needs a full-time economic development director," McGuire said in response to a question from councilman Mike Hutchens.

"We need to be available to assist any industry," he said.

The city's basic responsibility is to have the necessary streets, water and sewer services that are needed by an industry wanting to locate here, he said.

"If we have the infrastructure, it makes it much easier to attract industries," he said.

In other business the council:

* Voted 4-0 to give final approval to a special ordinance calling a special election on Aug. 7 to ask voters approve $9.8 million in revenue bonds to finance building a new sewage treatment plant. These bonds will be added to the $5.2 million in bonds approved by voters in 2003 to cover the estimated $15 million cost of the project. This is the estimate provided to the city by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. City manager Bill McGuire said that there would be no need to raise sewer rates to cover the cost of repaying these bonds. The rates were increased in December 2006 to cover the cost of financing this project. Although the sewer rates and the one-half-cent capital improvement sales tax will cover the cost of the treatment plant, McGuire said that it might become necessary to raise rates at some time in the future to cover operation costs of the plant.

* Voted 4-0 to pass on second reading a special ordinance granting a three-year street light franchise to Aquila, Inc. to maintain the city's street lighting system.

* Voted 4-0 to postpone consideration of a new fee structure for use of the Nevada-Vernon County Community Center until the May 15 council meeting.

* Voted to give final approval to a special ordinance vacating two feet of right-of-way on East Cherry Street in front of the Key Building to facilitate the sale of the building. The building extends two feet into the right-of-way.

* Adopted Resolution No. 1193 approving the revision of signatories for city accounts at US Bank, which include the general operations account, payroll clearing account, money market account, flex benefits account, Community Development Block Grant account and municipal clearing account. The resolution calls for either Kristie Modlin, interim city treasurer, or Linda Breeden, deputy city treasurer, to sign checks from these accounts, with a counter signature by the city clerk or the mayor.

It also calls for Sharon L. Kegler, assistant court clerk to be added to the municipal clearing account, so she can sign checks if Cynthia Dye, municipal court administrator, is unavailable, with the counter signer the treasurer, city clerk or judge.