Auditor Phillips urges council to create full‑time payroll/accounts‑payable budget assistant

Auditor Phillips asked the Executive Committee to create a full‑time payroll/accounts‑payable budget assistant in the auditor’s office, saying the office needs staff stability after recent turnover and to avoid routine overtime. “We wanna make sure that we're fully staffed and capable of handling all the work, not have anything be, either dropped or late or anything like that,” Phillips said, adding that the position “has been factored into our budget, so it's not like anything extra is gonna be asked for.”

The auditor said the deputy auditor position was recently filled with Glenn Melbar and that recruiting for a part‑time assistant in the past produced a weak candidate pool; restoring the post to full time, Phillips said, supports succession planning and could help cover deputy duties in the future. Phillips also said the office has been coordinating temporary help from other departments while it recruits.

Council members pressed for clarity about the legal form of the ordinance and whether the city should add one line to the existing nonbargaining ordinance or create a separate ordinance. Law Department counsel Ward said the city can draft the ordinance so it is “limited only to that position” if that is the council’s preference; counsel added that ordinances often include language repealing prior inconsistent legislation.

Several council members recommended adding clarifying language so the previous part‑time line is removed from existing ordinances. Phillips said the office plans to recruit immediately and then review departmental structure and clean up prior listings as a follow‑up.

Council member Winarski moved to send ordinance 26‑13 to the full council with emergency language; the motion was seconded and committee members signified their support with “aye.” The Executive Committee approved forwarding the ordinance to the full council for consideration.