City of Oak Creek

Common Council Report

Meeting Date: 03/04/03

Recommendation: Discussion item: Status of the City Treasurer position, Charter Ordinances #8 and #9, and the April 1, 2003 referendum and special election.

Background: In October, 2002, the Council adopted Charter Ordinance #8, which made the City Treasurer’s position appointed until April, 2004. At the same time, the Council held Charter Ordinance #9, which would combine the Clerk & Treasurer positions into one elected position beginning in April 2004, and postponed further discussion on that issue until sometime in August or September, 2003. Subsequently, a citizens’ petition was legally presented which required Charter Ordinance #8 to be placed on the April 1, 2003 ballot as a binding referendum, and resulted in the need for a special election for City Treasurer to be held on the same ballot. For that special election, one individual completed the nomination process and will appear on the April 1^st ballot as the only candidate for the office.

While Charter Ordinance #9 and its related issues were not going to be reviewed until later in 2003, there are considerations that we believe might prompt having the discussion much sooner. The City has concern over budget constraints, is facing a potential loss of state shared revenues due to major state budget deficits, and is looking for ways to curb spending. After handling the rearranged duties of the Treasurer’s position since June, 2002, staff has now developed a workable system of fulfilling the job requirements without replacing a full-time Treasurer. The costs savings for not replacing the position full-time are substantial, and as city officials, staff believes it is important to point out potential cost-savings. The way in which the position could be satisfactorily handled would be to continue the current arrangement of the City Clerk and City Accountant handling many of the Treasurer duties, to upgrade the current Account Clerk I position to Account Clerk II, and to continue the use of permanent part-time staff and temporary seasonal staff. This discussion item was referred to the Personnel Committee for consideration, and the Committee has referred it directly to the Council for discussion.

Meanwhile, the April 1^st referendum will determine whether or not the position will be elected or appointed for the period of April 2003-April 2004:

If the referendum is defeated, the candidate on the ballot would automatically assume the office of City Treasurer for a one-year term.

If the referendum is approved, the Mayor and Council would determine who would assume the office.

Regardless of the April 1^st referendum’s outcome, the effect on the position would be for one year only. Action or inaction on Charter Ordinance #9 would determine the status of the position after April, 2004. Rather than postponing consideration of the issue until later this year, staff believes it is beneficial to have discussion to help the public gain understanding of some of the implications of the April 1^st referendum.

Fiscal Impact:

The current annual salary cost for the position of Treasurer is $50,020, using the 2002 rate, and the current annual benefit cost for the position is approximately $25,800, for a total annual cost of approximately $75,820.

If the current arrangement is continued, and an upgrade is made to the Account Clerk I position, the approximate annual cost to the City would be $11,860 in salaries for the additional compensation being paid to the City Clerk and City Accountant and a salary adjustment for the Account Clerk I, and $2,100 in additional benefit costs for a total annual cost of approximately $13,960.

The City could save the difference, or approximately $61,860, on an annual basis.

Prepared by and Fiscal Review by:

Beverly A. Buretta, CMC

City Clerk

RoseAnn Underberg

City Accountant

Respectfully submitted,

Robert L. Kufrin

City Administrator