Smithville staff propose new animal control, facilities and GIS/IT positions; board narrows priority to GIS and parks facilities

City staff presented recommendations for several new positions and asked the Board of Aldermen for direction about which roles to prioritize in upcoming budget planning.

Staff reviewed recent hires and current vacancies, noting the city currently budgets 65 full‑time employees and is actively recruiting for two police officers and three utilities positions. The new positions discussed included an animal control officer, a communications/public relations coordinator, a GIS/IT technician, and a parks and facilities manager.

Staff said the animal control officer position had been discussed previously and is proposed to be funded from the public safety sales tax with phased implementation mid‑year; staff estimated implementation costs “upwards of $113,000” (personnel and program start‑up) to be covered from that revenue source. The parks and facilities manager was estimated to cost about $89,000 in personnel costs (wages, insurance, FICA, retirement and workers’ comp). The GIS/IT technician was described as a citywide position that could support utilities mapping, crime mapping and IT vendor coordination.

Aldermen discussed space constraints in city offices and the difficulty of adding new staff without facilities planning. After discussion, one alderman said the two highest priorities were the GIS/IT technician and the parks and facilities manager; staff agreed to work with the finance director to bring both positions forward for review in budget development. The board did not adopt any personnel appropriations during the work session.