MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr proposed hiring a project manager for the Engineering Department to help with contract management, managing records and communicating with stakeholders.
The mayor asked City Council to consider the idea during its Monday night meeting.
Councilmember John Francis, chair of the Employee and Community Relations Committee, asked for an additional 15-minute meeting on the council’s next regular meeting date, which will be April 25. The proposal was given its second reading on Monday.
The project manager’s annual salary would be $52,000, though Auditor Terry Scott suggested setting the starting date this year at July 1 to reduce the expense. More than $13,000 would be available for the position from what remains of funds budgeted for a contractor who performs some of the work for the department on a part-time basis.
Starr confirmed the proposal is to hire Emily McKinley, who currently works as a consultant for the city Engineering Department, as the project manager.
An assistant city engineer who recently was hired did not start work until 13 weeks of the budget year had passed, so those funds also are available to fund the project engineer’s position, he said.
The council approved reducing the city’s engineering contract budget by $400,000 this year because it was told bringing more of the work in-house would save the city money.
Public speakers vs. invited speakers
An oversight left out the option for public speakers at City Council meetings to ask for an additional 4 minutes of time to offer comments, Council president Bruce Hawkins said. He used that omission as an opportunity to introduce other changes to council rules for comment at its meetings.
Speakers asked to speak at meetings, such as Health Commissioner Julie Miller, have been listed in public comment on meeting agendas.
Hawkins suggested changing the agenda to move invited speakers out of the "Persons Speaking on Matters of City Concern" section, where individuals asking to address council are listed.
Councilmember Amber Keener said she wanted the language to be more inviting to the public.
“It is a privilege that is granted by counsel, but the wording of it, I think, was aggressive,” she said. “And I simply wanted to clean up the language, not that we're letting everybody speak for as long as they want.”
Councilmember Mike Hillier’s motion to table the existing proposal was approved so a new piece of legislation could be written.
Clinton Township annexations move forward
After some discussion in a committee meeting, City Council held its second reading for the annexation of four parcels totaling just over 14 acres from Clinton Township. At its next meeting, the third and final reading will be held to annex the property.
Law Director Rob Broeren said Councilmember John Francis has had several community meetings about these properties, which tended to attract crime and the homeless.
As part of Clinton Township, law enforcement responsibility fell with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
“That could often lead to very long response times because the Sheriff's Office at certain times only has three deputies to patrol the entire county," Broeren said.
The city worked with the property owner to annex the parcels. The Knox County Board of Commissioners approved the annexation in January, he said. The final step is for Mount Vernon to approve it.
