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Park City expands staff at City Hall
By Taylor Messick
Last Updated: March 16, 2018

On March 13, the Park City council approved a couple of new city jobs. A part-time employee will join the staff at the city offices while the police department created a new leadership position.

First, the council unanimously voted to approve a part-time position for the finance department. Finance Director Daniela Rivas explained to the council that her current staff members are "wearing a lot of different hats" to keep day-to-day operations running smoothly at City Hall. On top of their other job duties, employees are helping customers at the front desk and on the phone because the office simply doesn't have enough employees.

Those extra duties have been cutting into employees' regular work schedules, which have led to documents piling up and work being put off until later. Rivas said that her employees often come in on weekends to finish their own work. Council member Jim Schroeder said that he was glad Rivas brought the issue to council and that he trusts Rivas' judgment.

"I'm a big proponent of the department heads coming to us and telling us what they need," said Schroeder. "I'm not trying to micro-manage that; I'm especially supportive of this because (Rivas) has never come and asked us for anything like this. We beefed up the police department last year so it makes sense to tackle some of these sorts of positions this year."

Rivas said the city plans to give the position about 18 hours per week. The position will pay about $14.50 per hour. The city has planned for the new position by allocating about $18,000 per year from various funds.

The other new job the council unanimously approved March 13 was a corporal position at the police department. The department can now have up to four corporals at once. Police Chief Phil Bostian said he hopes the creation of the position will accomplish a few things for the department.

The corporal position will put more officers in leadership roles which help with both accountability and morale. It will also help close knowledge gaps in the department. Corporals will have training and authority to deal with things that everyday officers might not. An example Bostian gave was property and evidence. The department currently has one officer who deals with returning property to owners; if that officer isn't available, the owner can't get his or her property back.

Another hope Bostian has is that the position will help with employee retention. He says officers are more likely to stick around with opportunities for promotions. Corporals' salaries will range from $19.17 to $27.65 per hour. They will take on the responsibilities that the field training officers previously held. The creation of the positions is expected to cost the city $10,000 per year.

In other business, the council:

•Unanimously approved the purchase of 180 remote-read water meters at a cost of $77,100.

•Held a public hearing regarding the structure at 1915 E. Fairchild and unanimously deemed it unsafe and ordered it to be repaired or demolished.

•Voted to match Convention and Tourism funds for flag and branding in the amount of $11,775 with a 6-1 vote. The council unanimously appointed council members Ben Sauceda and Jim Schroeder to serve on the selection committee to select a consultant for a flag and branding.

Council member Melvin Kerr was absent. There was no executive session taken.





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