Council members debate adding a second council associate and how council staffing should work

Council members on the Finance Committee on April 22 debated whether the council needs a second council associate, what tasks the role should perform and how council-facing staffing should interact with the mayor's office, the city manager and Office of Community Services.

Alderman O'Neil said the council had previously requested an additional council associate to support legislative work and follow-through: "What I'm looking for is someone to help keep track of implementation of legislation," she said. Other council members said they were unsure whether the current associate's workload had been fully used and asked for a review of the original job description and recent practice.

Several members, including Miss Watkins Eldridge and Alderman Arnett, said clearer guidance is needed on the associate's duties. Watkins Eldridge said the current associate has been given extra tasks to fill workload but that some committee requests have not been channeled through the associate. Arnett recommended the council meet with Human Resources to align expectations and job descriptions.

Budget staff and the city clerk's office said the presentation may have included a title or position line that made it appear the mayor's office or law department were adding an extra FTE; budget manager Jake Trudeau agreed to correct an intern line that appeared inconsistently in department summaries. Committee members asked HR and the mayor's office to provide an organizational chart and to circulate the job description used when the current associate was hired.

Ending: The committee asked staff to provide the job description used in hiring the existing city council associate, an organizational chart for the mayor's office and for the Office of Community Services, and recommended a follow-up discussion with HR to finalize whether an additional associate is needed and, if so, what duties the new position should have.