Wyoming staff seek grant administrator, payroll and IT supervisor in FY2027 budget

City staff presented three personnel requests for fiscal year 2027 at the March 9 work session: a centralized grants administrator, an accounting specialist focused on retiree payroll, and an information-technology supervisor to manage SCADA and cybersecurity for utility plants.

Staff said an internal audit (Plante Moran) identified decentralized grant administration as inefficient and that a single grants administrator could build a proactive pipeline tied to the capital-improvement plan, improve compliance and reporting, and in many cases be at least partially funded through grant reimbursements. Jody (staff) described the grants administrator role as coordinating programmatic and financial requirements with departments and tracking time to charge appropriate funds.

The accounting specialist would separate retiree payroll from active payroll processing and handle the complex calculations and benefit inquiries that occupy significant staff time. The IT supervisor would support the water and wastewater plants’ SCADA systems and address cybersecurity recommendations from a recent CISA review.

Funding and oversight: Staff said most of the positions would be funded outside the general fund (for example, half of the IT supervisor cost to water and sewer), and that grant-funded salary portions would be charged to the relevant funds. Staff emphasized that most grants are reimbursement-based, meaning the city pays expenses and then requests reimbursement; eligible grant awards sometimes include administrative allowances to offset personnel costs. The council asked staff to provide metrics showing whether the grants administrator would be self-funding and requested a one-year review if the post is approved.

Next steps: Staff said the positions will be included in the operating budget presented to council in April; council will decide whether to adopt them with the FY2027 operating budget.