Does Centerville Need A Full-Time Finance Director?
CENTERVILLE - The Centerville City Council is actively engaged in a search to replace former city finance director John Meyer, who retired last January for health reasons.
But some Centerville citizens question whether the city really needs a full-time finance director.
Since Meyer’s departure, the city has relied on intermittent assistance from Abdo, Eick & Meyers, the city’s auditors, to keep its financial wheels turning. Centerville is counting on cost savings realized by Meyer’s departure to help whittle its budget in 2009; even aft er accounting for the costs of temporary help until a new finance director is hired, it appears the city will be $22,000 ahead.
But although the city may have been paying for a full-time finance director, Centerville resident Stephanie Blomseth wonders if it had one.
Records show that while Meyer was employed by the city of Centerville he actively pursued other work, both as a consultant to Minnesota municipalities and as a part-time employee of an engineering consulting firm in North Dakota.
According to a story published on January 23, 2009 in the Maple Lake Messenger, Maple Lake City Clerk Linda Hruby told city council members that she had recently learned that Meyer, who currently serves as Maple Lake City Economic Developer, was employed full-time by the city of Centerville.
“He still found time to bill us $42,000 [in 2008] and still have a full-time job.
That’s pretty good,” Mayor Mike O’Loughlin was quoted as saying.
Meyer helped the city attract industrial prospects, site a community library, and advised the community of 2,000 on city project assessments and other financial matters—the type of work he has performed for Maple Lake since 1993.
During the same time period, Meyer served as a financial and marketing consultant for the cities of Canby and Garfield, Minn.
Lightowler Johnson Associates in Fargo, N.D. lists Meyer as an employee on the company’s Web site. Meyer has worked up to 35 hours per week as Project Developer/ Finance Advisor for the architectural/engineering firm since July 1, 2005, sources say.
“I feel like we’ve been paying for a full-time finance director that works parttime,” Blomseth said.
But Centerville’s Personnel Policies, which are applicable to all city employees not otherwise engaged under a specific employment contract, do not prohibit employees from holding second jobs.
It states that employees “must devote all work time to city business [emphasis added],” and that “No work relating to outside employment or other non-city business may be performed during work time.”
And City Administrator Dallas Larson, Meyer’s direct supervisor, says that Centerville has enjoyed a high level of expertise in its top accounting position. Larson believes that “extra horsepower” has paid off. The city has been unusually successful at attracting money, taking in over $3 million in grants since Meyer was hired in 2004.
“I’m not aware of anything [concerning Meyer’s job performance] that would raise any huge red flags,” Larson told The Citizen. “If he was resourceful enough to generate a few dollars on the side in a consulting business, that’s fine, as long as it didn’t affect his job here.”
Several council members, including Tom Lee and Mayor Mary Capra, say they were aware that Meyer had a consulting business, a fact that Lee says was disclosed at the time of Meyer’s interview in 2004. But how much outside consulting he did, or whether Meyer arrived at City Hall “refreshed and ready for work” as the Personnel Policy requires, has apparently never been discussed.
Council Member Linda Broussard Vickers told The Citizen that she could not comment on the extent of Meyer’s work for others. “If I’m provided different documentation, I’d be able to look at it differently,” she said. The councilwoman expressed her frustration, however, that city officials have not yet received the results of the ongoing audit by the State Auditor’s Office, an effort that commenced last December and which has been “in review” for two months now.
“If there are some serious situations, we’re being handicapped by them not releasing their report,” Broussard Vickers said.
In view of the economic downturn and the current stagnation of the city’s downtown redevelopment project, however, the question arises— are the cities of Maple Lake, Canby and Garfield on to something?
Resident Julie Rieman thinks so: Centerville, which is just over 4,000 in population, could save some money by delaying the hiring of Meyer’s replacement, she believes.
“Why the rush? Let’s wait until the audit results come out—what’s wrong with saving $22,000—or $44,000?” she asked.
Council Member Ben Fehrenbacher, for one, appears prepared to discuss the matter. “Is it a 40-houra- week job? Maybe not,” he said, adding that he didn’t have a problem with employees doing work outside of regular city work hours.
“I’m moonlighting as a council member,” Fehrenbacher said.
Meyer did not return a phone call in time for this story.
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