Will Evansville Combine Administrator and Finance Positions?

City of Evansville Finance & Labor Relations Committee Special Meeting Monday, August 13, 2012, 5:30 pm City Hall, 31 S. Madison St., Evansville, Wisconsin MINUTES I. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 5:30 pm by Chair Mason Braunschweig. Present: Alderpersons Mason Braunschweig, Jim Brooks, and Josh Manring. Also present: Mayor Sandy Decker, Finance Director Lisa Novinska, City Clerk Judy Walton, and City Administrator Dan Wietecha. II. Approve Agenda. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Manring, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion approved unanimously. III. Minutes of August 9, 2012. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Manring, to defer the reading of the minutes until the September regular meeting. Motion approved unanimously. IV. Citizen Appearances. None. V. Finance Director Position Description. Wietecha distributed copies of the Finance Director position description, noting it should be reviewed to make sure it is still current and accurately reflects expectations and job responsibilities. FLR noted that the last time a department head position was hired, the Water & Light Committee actually took a clean sheet of paper (rather than merely updating the existing position description) and identified the key job responsibilities – both existing and with an eye to the future. Then W&L reviewed the existing position description to make sure it hadn’t overlooked something important. FLR discussed the coincidence of having two leadership positions to consider within a short time frame and posed the possibility of combining the Finance Director and City Administrator positions. Such a combination would require delegating and realigning some duties for office staff. It could also allow creation of a new position to handle economic development, planning, and similar responsibilities. VI. Finance Director Hiring Process. FLR noted that combining the positions would mean a longer transition period and stressed the need to keep some activities (eg: taxes and budget) from slipping through the cracks during the transition. They discussed delegating and balancing some responsibilities throughout the city hall staff and maintaining an appropriate segregation of duties. FLR questioned whether there would be enough work for a full-time economic development position. FLR agreed with the “clean sheet of paper” approach to the Finance Director and Administrator position descriptions to identify appropriate job duties and priorities with a goal of combining the two. FLR emphasized that the City Administrator involves all departments, not just FLR; the full City Council should be involved in the discussion. VII. Adjournment. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Manring, to adjourn the meeting. Motion approved unanimously at 6:55 pm.