The Gillett City Council on Thursday agreed to several changes to the deputy clerk/deputy treasurer position due to an impending retirement.
Leone Christensen, 64, will retire July 31, following 25 years as clerk/treasurer or deputy clerk/deputy treasurer.
The council will cut Christensen’s deputy position from full time to 20-25 hours a week, starting July 31. Wages were set at $10-$14 an hour.
The council also approved a job description for a municipal court clerk, which separates the job from that of the deputy clerk/deputy treasurer.
Christensen’s municipal clerk duties have been transferred to Clerk/Treasurer Beth Rank. Rank said she was confident she could manage both roles.
Deborah Erickson, chairperson of the Gillett Finance and Personnel Committee, said the committee held lengthy discussions regarding the reduction to part-time hours for the deputy.
Because the deputy is no longer doubling as municipal court clerk, she said, “There isn’t enough to justify a full-time position for just the deputy clerk/treasurer.”
Alderperson Nanette Mohr said it wasn’t feasible to reduce staff from two full-time and one part-time employee (Chelsea Henkel) to one full-time and one part-time employee.
“I can’t foresee there isn’t going to be overtime,” she said, before casting the only vote opposing the change.
Rank said she was confident the city could operate with fewer personnel.
“Currently, I don’t have things for Leone to do,” she said. “I’m finding things for Leone to do.”
“I think part of it is Beth has just got the office organized,” Mayor Irene Drake said.
“I think we’re running more efficiently,” Rank added.
By reducing the clerk’s hours, the city will save an estimated $12,000 for the remainder of 2015 and $30,000 in future years. The city plans to post the part-time job opening and hire someone to begin in August. The part-time hours of the deputy will vary based on the daily and weekly workload.
The City Council on Thursday also approved a one-time fee of $125 an hour for the city’s auditors to adjust Gillett’s account numbers to match the chart used by the auditor and the city’s new computer system. The work, estimated to cost up to $3,750, was presented as a way to save the city from paying Rank overtime.
Christensen started working for the city part time in 1990 and transitioned to full time in 2007. She was deputy clerk/deputy treasurer from 1990 to 2010 and clerk/treasurer from October 2010 to June 2013.
When Rank was hired in 2013, Christensen elected to return to the role of deputy.
The clerk/treasurer and deputy clerk/deputy treasurer are employees hired by the city; they are not elected.
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