Nevada council approves split of clerk and finance duties, creates assistant city administrator/finance director role

The Nevada City Council voted to separate the city clerk and finance director duties and to create an assistant city administrator/finance director position, actions council members said are intended to reduce staff overtime and ensure continuity when the finance director retires.

City staff told the council the split is prompted by an upcoming retirement and by workload: staff estimated the current clerk does roughly 50 hours a week during the busiest times, notably budget preparation. Council members said the new structure will allow the clerk to focus on statutory clerk duties while the finance director will oversee budgets, TIF reporting and other fiscal responsibilities.

Staff described the proposed salary range as aligned with other senior positions in the city, including the public works director and police chief. Council members compared Nevada’s proposed structure to similar arrangements in comparable Iowa cities, such as Adel and Clear Lake, where separate finance directors and clerks work alongside a city administrator.

Council moved and approved the separate city clerk/employee services director position and later moved and approved the assistant city administrator/finance director position. Both motions were recorded as approved in the meeting minutes. The council directed staff to begin recruitment and to manage transitional training so the retiring finance director can hand off duties.

City officials said they will monitor candidate availability and timing; if viable candidates are not found the recruitment timeline could be extended. The council also discussed whether filling the new positions will require hiring additional office staff (for example, a deputy clerk or utility clerk) and asked staff to clarify those duties during the hiring process.