HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Council Action Form MEMO
To: City Council
From: Judie Hoffman and Ann Campbell
Re: City Clerk position
As the council members appointed to meet with and make recommendations on
the 3 city council appointees, we have spent a great deal of time studying the
office and job description of the city clerk. Following the time-honored city
tradition of using a job vacancy as an opportunity to reevaluate a position, we
looked for opportunities for change and improvement.
We met with the City Attorney, the staff in the City Clerk's office, and the City
Manager. Additionally we have asked the City Manager to meet with the
Human Resources Director to help guide us with an updated job evaluation. We
have been in this process since April 14, the date of the resignation of Sandra
Ryan.
These are our conclusions:
• With the advances in technology, the City Clerk is increasingly an integral part
of the entire information system of the City rather than an independent record
keeper.
• The job has become sufficiently complex so that the City Council does not
have the technical expertise to be an adequate supervisor of the management
of that office. Any deficiencies in the operation of this office might not surface to
the Council until well after the fact.
• Record keeping is a very important component of city government, but one that
is not part of the Council's day-to-day view of city government.
• The Clerk's office is one (3 FTE's) which might be more efficiently incorporated
into the larger workings of the city rather than left to stand alone.
For the above reasons, it is our recommendation that the City Clerk's hiring,
firing, and supervision be put in the hands of the City Manager. Currently state
law in Iowa does require that the City Council be the body that assumes the
responsibility for hiring and firing. This is understandable since cities in Iowa
vary greatly in size and sophistication. In many small cities it is the City Clerk
who actually serves as the city's administrator. In those instances it is certainly
important for the City Council to have a very "hands on" approach to the Clerk's
hiring and firing. We feel in a city the size of Ames it is more important to respect
the City Manager form of government and ask the Manager to assume this
responsibility.
While recognizing that the City Manager already has a full plate of
responsibilities, we have urged him to assume the management of the Clerk's
office as well. Therefore it is our recommendation that you adopt Option No. 1
which would enable the City Manager to hire, fire, and supervise the City Clerk.
The role of Council would be to officially confirm the Clerk's appointment or
termination as per the attached ordinance.
Our proposed options are:
1. Adopt the attached ordinance enabling the City Manager to assume hiring,
firing, and supervision of the City Clerk.
2. Retain the present organization of the City Clerk's office.
It is our recommendation that we move to support Option No. 1