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Committee weighs paying incoming CAO for preparatory work and contracting outside planning support
Summary
Committee members proposed up to $500/month to compensate the incoming chief administrative officer for up to ~20 hours of preparatory review work and discussed contracting planning support (Montana League of Cities consultant Jerry Grebenc or former county planner Scott) to handle temporary workload gaps rather than overburdening existing staff.
Members discussed staffing measures to help the incoming chief administrative officer (CAO) and to address a growing planning workload.
The chair proposed allocating time and funds to the new CAO for preparatory work: "I was thinking around $500 a month up to, I should say, up to 500 a month," estimated to cover roughly 20 hours a month of reviewing minutes and meeting packets so the CAO would not be overwhelmed on arrival. The mayor and chair reported the CAO has been informally doing some of this work and suggested formalizing limited compensation so the city is not asking the new employee to volunteer those hours.
Separately, members raised contracting planning support to cover short-term capacity issues. They discussed reaching out to the Montana League of Cities and Towns consultant (Jerry Grebenc) and a former county planner (Scott) as possible options because Trent, the current staffer, is managing multiple projects and some grants that remain open. Committee members described contracting as a potentially cost-neutral option because the city is not currently paying a full-time planner salary.
No formal contract award or budget appropriation was made at the meeting; members framed these items as proposals to bring to the finance committee for review.
