$125K state grant to help Arnold bring back city administrator post

Arnold is bringing back the position of city administrator two years after it eliminated the post to have a clerk oversee day-to-day operations, and the state will pick up some of the costs for at least three years.

“We need to have someone who can be more focused and given a little bit more power so they can run the day-to-day business of the city,” said Mayor Joseph Bia. “We need someone who is going to be able to make more decisions.”

Among other differences, a city administrator has the authority to make personnel changes while a city clerk does not.

The effort to restore the city administrator’s position is being funded with a $125,400 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

Part of the grant will be used to cover the costs of appointing a city administrator and underwriting a portion of the administrator’s salary and benefits, said Casey Smith, a spokeswoman for the Department of Community and Economic Development, which approved the grant under its Strategic Management Planning Program.

The grant also will be used to help cover expenses related to updating the city’s code book and upgrading the treasury office’s computer system, officials said.

A breakdown of the funding was not available because a contract with the city has not been formally executed, Smith said. The grant program would run for three years.

The administrator’s salary is not specified in a proposed Arnold ordinance outlining the administrator’s authority, powers, duties and responsibilities. It states that city council will set the salary, and that the term of office will be four years.

DCED’s Strategic Management Planning Program is open to local governments and provides grant money to help cash-strapped municipalities develop multiyear financial plans and establish short- and long-term financial objectives, Smith said.

“Arnold City Council’s five members have full-time jobs and would benefit from a city manager to handle day-to-day operations,” Smith said. “Continued turnover in the position would cause instability in managing the budget and critical understanding of the finances of Arnold City across all departments.”

The position of city administrator was created in Arnold in 2014 after the Third-Class City Code was changed to allow for it. A consulting firm that was helping the city straighten out its finances and prevent it from being declared financially distressed by the state recommended creating the administrator position.

Bia was among those who voted in favor of eliminating the administrator’s position and reestablishing the position of city clerk in 2018.

That resulted in the departure of Administrator George Hayfield and Mario Bellavia being hired as clerk.

When that decision was made, former Mayor Karen Peconi said doing so would return some power to council that was lost when the administrator’s position was created and save the city about $10,000 in salary costs.

Hayfield’s annual salary had been more than $51,000 , while Bellavia started at $40,000.

Once the administrator’s position is formally created, Arnold will no longer have a city clerk. Bia said Bellavia will be encouraged to apply for the administrator’s position.

Bia said council as a whole decided to go back to an administrator.

According to the proposed job description, the administrator will oversee all city departments and functions except for police. The administrator will be able to hire, discipline and fire employees with the exception of department heads, where council would retain power.

As the city’s chief administrative officer, the administrator also will negotiate contracts, recommend municipal improvements and prepare the city’s annual budget.

The DCED grant also will be used to help the city update its code book, which hasn’t been done since 2012, according to Smith. She said grant money also will help improve the treasury office’s “antiquated” computer system, and the upgrade would reduce manual labor and automate processes.

Bia said the treasury office is recording collections on note cards and using an “archaic” computer system.