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details on the requests that were provided by the department heads in response to the Council <br /> questions at the last discussion. <br /> Councilmember Kuzma referenced the senior planner position and the difference between that <br /> proposed cost and the cost of using consultants. <br /> Community Development Director Gladhill stated that as they add a senior planner they would <br /> rely less on consultants. He stated that currently the balance between staff and consultants is <br /> working but is not working very well as they are not able to keep up with the workload. <br /> City Administrator Ulrich noted that a large portion of the City Clerk's duties is licensing and <br /> that senior planner would handle the licensing duties as well. <br /> Mayor Strommen asked if the redistribution of the duties would be temporary during this <br /> transition time for the City Clerk or whether when a new City Clerk is hired that would only be <br /> needed part-time rather than full-time. She stated that if this is permanent redistribution of <br /> duties, she would then want to know what the City Clerk position would look like once the <br /> phased retirement is complete and a new City Clerk is hired. <br /> Asst. City Administrator/Economic Development Manager Brama stated that he is unable to <br /> provide a certain answer on that as it is unclear how long the phased retirement will be, whether <br /> that is one year or five years plus. He stated that this was an opportunity to redistribute duties <br /> and assign them more appropriately. He stated that with this reorganization of duties and <br /> personnel, when the half time City Clerk fully retires and if a full-time City Clerk were hired that <br /> would only be the addition of a half time personnel credit rather than a full credit. <br /> City Administrator Ulrich stated that unfortunately there are some unknowns at this point. <br /> Councilmember LeTourneau stated that he interprets that City staff is proposing the half time <br /> City Clerk position and rather than adding another half time position, staff will be absorbing <br /> those duties internally. He stated that this is an opportunity to distribute that other half time <br /> credit between existing staff. He appreciated the ingenuity of staff and stated that he is willing to <br /> support staff in this attempt. <br /> Mayor Strommen stated that it appears that a job analysis has not been done to efficiently plan <br /> not only for the short-term but for the long-term as well. She stated that it seems that the <br /> strategic job audit and revisioning of job descriptions are missing from this process. She asked <br /> why the City Clerk job would look different in the future other than the fact that the current City <br /> Clerk is going to do a phased retirement. She stated that this appears to be shaped by <br /> circumstances rather than strategically planned. <br /> City Administrator Ulrich stated that staff attempted to look at this strategically. He explained <br /> that licensing seemed to fit more appropriately with community development, which would <br /> make a "one stop shop" for homeowners and create a better customer focused opportunity. He <br /> stated that staff is intentionally putting several of the staff people through City Clerk training so <br /> that they could become certified City Clerks. He noted that while those employees could serve <br /> City Council Work Session/July 25,2017 <br /> Page 5 of 7 <br />