By Robert Williams

Editor

The Vergas City Council approved a new hire and will offer the position of deputy clerk after a special meeting Thursday, Jan. 30, to review recommendations from the personnel committee.

There were five applicants, four of which were interviewed. Of the four approved applicants, Sarah Stone was recommended for hire with a start date of Monday, Feb. 3.

Stone was previously hired by the city for a liquor store position a year-and-a-half ago.

“We felt very confident in her,” said council member James Stenger.

“She was very presentable and knowledgeable in what we needed to be done here; as far as dealing with the public, I believe she will be a very good one,” said Mayor Dwight Lundgren.

The position is part-time, 24-hours, Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with an additional summer schedule that includes 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Fridays. 

The deputy clerk will also attend the monthly Event Center meetings.

The hire is contingent upon a background check and also includes a six-month probationary period. 

The deputy clerk position was created to spread city knowledge in the city office, along with taking some of the workload off of Clerk/Treasurer Julie Lammers.

If Stone declines the offer or another circumstance arises, the city does have backup applicants in place.

“We do have two more very good applicants that were very difficult to decide,” Lammers said.

A new computer was also approved for the deputy clerk position, due to not being compatible with all of the city’s software. The computer was recommended by the city’s preferred IT Company Corp Technologies, Inc., for $990.45.

Corp Tech will transfer all data from the former computer and complete the setup in the office.

Utilities

The city utility staff will be returning to a schedule of two hours each day of the weekend. Staff will rotate weekends. Weekend work is primarily weekend work due to snow removal, but summer hours do include emergency calls and observation of the city/sewer system. The change is basically a trade-off for having an employee available rather than being on-call.

Personnel policies

A change was made to clean up the wording of the city’s personnel policy regarding employees and permits to carry weapons. The change includes allowing city employees to carry as long as they are permitted to do so.

The new policy now reads: Possession or use of a dangerous weapon is prohibited on city property, in city vehicles, or in personal vehicles being used for city business unless the employee has a valid permit to carry.

Oversight on employee overtime was also given to the personnel committee. The committee also approved increases to city employees’ Health Savings Accounts.