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Council approves staffing and budget transfers to add two mayor’s‑office positions
Summary
Council voted unanimously to transfer existing salary budgets between departments to fund two mayor's‑office positions for the remainder of the fiscal year, adding a deputy CAO and a chief executive assistant to the staffing document.
The council approved an ordinance at the Feb. 4 meeting to amend the fiscal‑year budget and the staffing document to add two positions in the mayor’s office, with the stated intent to fund them from existing budgets in other departments and to be budget‑neutral for the current year.
Finance Director Justin Sorensen explained the proposal would reallocate unspent salary budget from existing vacant positions across several departments to cover roughly $241,000 of expected wage costs for the remainder of the fiscal year. Sorensen said the reallocation draws on budgets from economic development, building services, community and economic development (CED), public services and reductions in professional/technical budgets and the general fund contingency to achieve a net zero impact on the general fund for this fiscal year.
Mayor Nadalski and administration staff described the new roles as part of an executive leadership structure tied to the mayor’s strategic “Ogden Way” framework; the two positions named in staff materials were a deputy chief administrative officer (proposed grade 190) and a chief executive assistant (proposed grade 180). Sorensen said the 7‑month pro‑rata calculation produced the $241,000 figure; the administration said it intends to make the positions budget‑neutral in next year’s budget through normal attrition and budgeting processes.
During the public hearing, two residents questioned whether the reallocated funds belonged to the source departments; staff explained that the budgets used were for positions that had been budgeted but remained vacant and that the staffing document is adopted annually and therefore can be changed by the council in future budget cycles. Councilmember Hyer moved to adopt the proposed ordinance (identified in the meeting as "proposed ordinance 20 20 five‑three") and Councilmember Chaburka seconded. The council voted by roll call with the following recorded ayes: Blair, Treborka, Graff, Hyer, Myers, White and Chair Richey; the motion passed unanimously.
The ordinance updates the staffing document to add the two positions to the mayor’s office; the council did not direct additional immediate hiring actions in the discussion recorded on the transcript.
