Council approves temporary staffing changes, debates hiring a full‑time finance director

The council approved two personnel actions and held a prolonged discussion about recruiting a permanent municipal finance director.

Council approved a motion to move Heather Burke to a full‑time (40 hours/week) temporary accounts‑payable position while the city continues its search for a finance director. The motion was seconded and approved by council vote.

Separately, Gerald Fortenberry — described in the meeting as a long‑time city employee who has worked in water and parks and assisted with city clerk duties — was appointed parks supervisor to relieve other staff workloads. That motion passed on a roll‑call vote.

Council members then discussed recruitment for a permanent finance director. Staff reported they had received roughly a dozen to 15 applications and identified a previously interviewed candidate with municipal finance experience who would require a salary in the neighborhood of $130,000. The council debated whether to pursue that candidate, to rely on a consultant for interim support, or to look for internal promotion. Several members emphasized the difficulty of training an internal candidate to perform complex municipal finance duties; others urged caution against a high turnover dynamic.

Several members suggested discussing compensation and references in executive session; staff said they would assemble additional candidates for interviews and that the mayor would appoint a subcommittee to help find qualified applicants. No final hiring decision for the permanent finance director was made at the meeting.