Agenda - Council - 05/14/2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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served as an Administrative Intern and therefore has the knowledge and skills necessary to fill the gap. Mayor LeTourneau stated that it appears this option will allow the necessary tasks to be filled until the new Administrative Intern can begin and come up to speed in a budget neutral manner. Councilmember Heinrich stated that she does like the creativity of staff to use an existing staff member to fill the "gap". She stated that she is unsure that the Administrative Intern is necessary and therefore struggles with the decision. She stated that there appears to be overlap between the Administrative Intern and Communications Specialist positions. She noted that she also struggles with how the employee would compartmentalize the duties for each position. She stated that she did not approve the budget for 2019 and is concerned with adding additional staff members and the impact that will have on the budget. She stated that she has also heard comments from residents that while Happy Days is a great event, it does not have to be done to the level or cost that it currently is. Councilmember Shryock asked and received confirmation that an Administrative Intern has been hired, but cannot start until May, which then created funds in the existing budget that can be used for this purpose. She also asked and confirmed that these additional hours would not qualify the employee for benefits. Administrative Services Director Lasher confirmed that this work would be in the budget for the Administrative Intern position. She explained that the Recreation Specialist currently works Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and therefore she would complete the Administrative Intern duties on Monday and Wednesday. Councilmember Musgrove stated that if the new Administrative Intern is going to come on board in May, why is this proposal scheduled to go through September. Administrative Services Director Lasher explained that while the new Administrative Intern would hopefully come on in May, it would take some time to bring that employee up to speed. She noted that the Happy Days activities are also going to be expanded and therefore this would be a manner to assist in that process without paying overtime for a full-time employee. She confirmed that she would be monitoring the payroll bi-weekly to assist in scheduling and ensure that the item does not go over budget. Councilmember Shryock stated that as long as the work falls within the budget constraints, she would accept the proposal. Councilmember Kuzma stated that this would not be a new hire and this employee is already trained to assist in this event. He stated that this will also be a method to prevent full-time staff members from accruing overtime. He stated that the Happy Days festival is important to the City and he would support this action. Councilmember Riley and Mayor LeTourneau confirmed that they would support the action. City Council Work Session / April 23, 2019 Page 4 of 6