Town of Yountville
Staff Report
6550 Yount Street
Yountville, CA 94599
Agenda Item #: {{section.number}}C
Yountville Town Council Staff Report
DATE: May 7, 2024
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Brad Raulston, Town Manager
PREPARED BY: Brad Raulston, Town Manager
RECOMMENDATION:
Consider adoption of Resolution Number 24-528 approving reclassification of the Town Clerk position to Communications Director/Town Clerk including new job description and salary range.
DISCUSSION/BACKGROUND
In accordance with the Yountville Municipal Code, the Town Manager is responsible for the administration of the Town’s personnel system, including the maintenance of the Town’s employee Classification Plan. The Classification Plan is a listing of approved positions, a salary schedule of the ranges and steps for each position, and Job Descriptions that detail the requirements of each position. All three elements are administered by the Town Manager and approved by the Town Council. Part of the duties of the Town Manager is to recommend changes to the personnel system for Council consideration.
After reviewing the current Town Clerk position with a focus on the implementation of Town Council goals and future needs of day-to-day Town operations, the Town Manager recommends that this position be expanded into the Communications Director. The reclassified Communications Director/Town Clerk role will encompass all Town Clerk duties, as well as establish, manage and lead the Communications/Town Clerk department which is comprised of the Communications Director/Town Clerk, the Deputy Town Clerk – Records Coordinator, the Information Technology Systems Administrator, and a part-time Marketing Specialist; provide an increased role in contract administration, community event coordination and advertising, partnering with other departments to create a heightened level of transparent, informative, and engaging messaging to the community, leading the Yountville Green initiative, and growing the Town’s social media presence. Per the Town’s Personnel Rules, reclassification is appropriate when the assigned duties of a position have been materially changed. A new job description reflecting the proposed job duties and assignments performed by the Communications Director/Town Clerk has been drafted and copies of both the current and proposed job descriptions are included for the Town Council to review.
Unlike the Town Clerk position, the Communications Director/Town Clerk position will be an At-Will position and subject to the conditions of employment as set forth in the Communications Director/Town Clerk's employment agreement. Therefore, the previous Town Clerk position has been removed from the Mid-Management & Professionals Bargaining Unit. The Town-initiated bargaining unit modification has been completed in the manner prescribed by the Town’s Employee-Employer Relations Resolution (EERR).
Along with this reclassification, the Town Manager recommends establishing the following salary range for the Communications Director/Town Clerk to adequately compensate for an increase in duties. This is an increase of 40% over the current Town Clerk salary at the top step as shown below:
Current Town Clerk monthly salary - Step A Step B Step C Step D Step E $9,307.73 $9773.10 $10,261.75 $10,774.85 $11,313.71
Proposed Communications Director/Town
Clerk monthly salary - Entry Control Point Top
$12,006.97 $13,340.28 $15,782.63
Factors that contributed to determining the appropriate salary range for this position included a review of the Town’s current Deputy Director and Director position salaries; a comparison conducted by a third-party consultant of positions similar to the Communications Director position in neighboring agencies; as well as evaluation of the salary most comparable to the positions/job descriptions for this proposed reclassification.
The increase in cost for this change in salary at the top of the salary range will be $53,627 per year. The proposed Biennial Budget for Fiscal Years 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 that was presented to the Town Council at the April 16, 2024 Budget Workshop included this proposed salary range.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Not Applicable
FISCAL IMPACT
Is there a Fiscal Impact? Yes
Is it Currently Budgeted? Yes
Where is it Budgeted? General Fund Town Clerk & Communications Department Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? Discretionary
Is there a Staff Resource Impact? Nominal
STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL
Is item Identified in Strategic Plan? Yes
If yes, Identify Strategic Goal and Objective. Exceptional Town Services and Staff: The Town supports its talented staff who deliver high quality municipal programs and services while maintaining public infrastructure for the benefit of the community.
Briefly Explain Relationship to Strategic Plan Goal and Objective. The proposed reclassification of the Town Clerk position would optimize this position and improve the Town’s level of service in regard to communication and engagement with the community.