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Committee opts to keep city clerk under manager appointment; members flag understaffing
Summary
The Charter Review Committee voted to retain the current appointment/supervision model for the city clerk (manager appointment with commission concurrence) and did not convert the clerk to a charter officer; members repeatedly noted the clerk’s heavy workload and recommended staffing reviews.
The Palatka Charter Review Committee on Oct. 14 decided to leave the city clerk’s appointment and supervision structure unchanged, rejecting a proposal to make the clerk a charter officer appointed and removable by the commission.
Discussion focused on the practical impacts of changing the clerk’s status, the volume of work handled by a one-person clerk’s office, and whether making the clerk a charter officer would alter the city’s manager–commission form of government. Several members said they valued the current system’s checks and balances, where the manager recommends appointments and the commission concurs; others said making the clerk a charter officer would shift hiring and firing authority and could complicate supervision.
City staff and members described the clerk’s workload in detail: the clerk reported that the office is a one-person department and said she relies on assistance from an individual named Jane when needed, but that staffing gaps often mean she must attend meetings even when sick. Members agreed the workload is large for one person and suggested “right-sizing” the department and exploring a deputy or assistant clerk, but noted that staffing and job descriptions fall to management and HR rather than the charter committee.
Mr. Dolan moved that the committee recommend keeping the status quo for the clerk (not making the clerk a charter officer); the motion was seconded and carried on a committee voice vote. The committee asked staff to include a short note in its next update about potential organizational adjustments and the option to recommend staffing changes to the manager and commission during budget discussions.
Next steps include reporting the committee’s recommendations to the commission at the committee’s November update and scheduling follow-up meetings to complete draft referral language and timing for the referendum.
