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Waupaca to hire new treasurer

The city of Waupaca plans to hire a new treasurer before its current one retires.

Treasurer Jean Peterson announced in April that she will retire the end of October, after 34 years of working for the city.

“I’ve been working the last couple months to come up with a game plan,” City Administrator Henry Veleker said during the July 1 meeting of the Common Council.

Two recommendations went before the council last week, and the council approved both by votes of 9-0. Ald. Eric Olson was absent.

One of them was a recruitment and selection timeline and budget.

The timeline calls for applications to be due at 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 4.

The first round of interviews is scheduled for the week of Aug. 18 and the second round the following week.

The interview panel will include Veleker, Mayor Brian Smith, Public Works Director John Edlebeck, Ald. Paul Mayou and a finance director from another municipality.

“If any other council member would like to serve on the interview panel, let me know,” Smith told the council.

Since it is a department head position, Smith will make a recommendation to the council for ratification.

Council action is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Sept. 16.

Plans call for the new director to be on board by the third week of October, Veleker said.

That will allow the new employee to train with Peterson for three weeks, before she retires.

Veleker noted the start date could be sooner if a local person is hired, allowing for more overlap with Peterson.

The budget for the recruitment and selection process is estimated to be between $7,400 and $9,800.

Included in that budget are advertising costs; interview expenses, such as travel reimbursements for second round candidates; overlapping wages of Peterson and the person hired; and the wage and benefit differential of the new position over what was budgeted.

Veleker said the city’s 2014 budget includes about $20,000 for council-related expenses.

He recommends taking funds out of that budget to recruit and select a new treasurer.

In addition to the timeline and budget, the council also approved an updated job description and reclassification of the position.

The name of the position has been changed to finance director/treasurer, and it now includes an education requirement of a four-year degree.

A CPA designation is desired but not required.

The new employee will also have some supervisory responsibilities. The receptionist and the HR/utility billing clerk will report to the position. No one reports to Peterson.

The position is currently a Level 4 position within the city’s Department Head/Administration Class and Compensation Plan. The range for the position, not updated since 2012, is $58,143 to $75,585.

The council approved reclassifying the position to a Level 5 position, with a salary range of $61,631 to $80,120.

The recommendation was based on the new job description, especially the new four-year degree and supervisory requirements.

“When we did the pay study 13 years ago, the treasurer was put at Level 4. Because of the educational requirement, I think we should bump it up to Level 5,” Veleker said.

Smith said, “I always think about the public versus private sector. I know we try to be equitable, but we also want to be competitive.”

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