07-13-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL WORK SESSION DRAFT 2 Ms. Bartholomew added that her understanding is that Ms. Cotton has been clear that if 44 she were to undertake the position of City Administrator with added high level finance 45 responsibilities she would need to have the restructuring and the proposed positions to 46 make it work. 47 48 Councilmember Lyden said that he wants to focus on having the right person for the right 49 job and he can’t say enough that he feels Ms. Cotton is the right person. He understands 50 that adding duties to the City Administrator position would absolutely be contingent upon 51 the restructuring recommendations she has made. 52 53 Councilmember Ruhland noted the proposed Communications Coordinator position and 54 asked if that is currently part of the Administrator’s or Finance Director’s duties and more 55 specifically how that fits in going forward. Ms. Bartholomew explained that the position 56 is recommended because it is needed as part of internal and external communication needs 57 and the current situation is that communication work is spread and not coordinated. 58 59 Councilmember Ruhland asked if Ms. Cotton has indicated a preference toward the 60 current city administrator model. Mayor Rafferty explained that he is bringing the 61 question forward because it’s an important consideration for the council. 62 63 Councilmember Cavegn remarked that he has felt some concern about the additional 64 duties being discussed for the new City Administrator. Both the city administrator and 65 finance director have been full time jobs and that model is working. He has been 66 supportive of the communications position but has questions about the salary proposed, 67 especially in comparison to the private sector; he wonders what duties are anticipated that 68 would merit that salary. Ms. Bartholomew said the salary proposed is comparable to 69 other city positions who handle external and internal communications at a high level; in 70 speaking with Ms. Cotton about what she envisioned, she heard that it was not entry level 71 but a higher level of expertise and services. Councilmember Cavegn indicated his 72 support for a part time position that provides missing pieces while allowing curr ent 73 employees to continue communications work. 74 75 Councilmember Stoesz suggested that he’d like to see Ms. Cotton settle into her position 76 and set her goals and then have the discussion about communication needs. 77 78 The council discussed questions surrounding the filling of a finance director position, a 79 position that could be difficult to fill. When the mayor asked if Ms. Cotton would need to 80 have someone assisting in the functions of a finance director in the interim, Ms. 81 Bartholomew said she thinks that would probably be the case. 82 83 The council discussed salary options for the current model City Administrator position. 84 The discussion included how the finance director function can be addressed as that 85 position is advertised and filled. Ms. Bartholomew noted that it may be necessary to hire 86 services from the City’s financial consultant to handle high level financial duties in the 87