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City manager consolidates administration; council signs off on audit, legal and IT budget lines
Summary
City Manager Herbert described a reorganization centralizing finance, HR and payroll under the manager's office and presented budget changes including increased legal contingency (projected ~$103,875), website contract growth to $6,007.75, and a proposed IT services contract near $99,989 with ComDoctor.
City Manager Herbert opened the city administration portion of the hearing by describing a reorganization that brought finance, HR and payroll functions under his office to standardize hiring and improve coordination across 17 department heads.
Herbert recommended several administrative budget adjustments. He proposed raising the municipal audit line to $30,000 to continue using a long‑standing audit firm. On legal services, the manager initially recommended a manager's retainer and projected costs but, after review, the council accepted a projection of about $103,875 to cover anticipated work and ongoing litigation briefs.
On communications and IT: the manager said the city's Mailchimp subscription moved from free to paid as subscriber counts grew and the office added a small social media 'boost' budget to expand outreach. Website hosting and maintenance with CivicPlus will rise to $6,007.75 next year after a rate increase. For IT services, the city proposed a one‑year contract with ComDoctor (an on‑site technician plus 24/7 support) with an annual cost in the neighborhood of $99,989; councilors discussed pros and cons of moving IT fully in‑house versus a hybrid model and left the contract renewal for this year in place while asking staff to explore alternatives.
City Clerk Angie Crosby (department request $254,268) reviewed clerk office lines including postage (expected to rise to $15,800 due to postage machine replacement and rate increases), supplies and personnel steps. Councilors praised clerk office customer service and commended improvements in election administration and staffing.
The council accepted the manager's presented figures for audit, website and IT for the coming year and scheduled further review of attorney fees and any litigation‑driven costs as bills arrive.
