Friday, Jul. 11, 2008

Haslet Mulls Adding City Administrator

By Mark Wright

Contributing Writer

The Haslet City Council on Monday night discussed, but opted not to decide, whether to hire a city administrator.

Instead, the council called for a broader discussion at its July 21 meeting of the job descriptions of various city staff positions. The workshop will attempt to determine if current employees and volunteer elected officials are already performing many of the key administrative tasks or if an administrator should be brought in to oversee the city’s day-to-day operations.

"My point is I think a city administrator would complement what we have in place and move us forward," said Mayor Pro Tem Bob Golden, who proposed the agenda item.

Haslet has employed two city administrators in the recent past, but Councilman Pat Richey said the previous administrators were appointed and fired for political reasons. If the council hires an administrator, it should be because he or she represents a quality lead staff member who could be trusted to convince developers and businesses to locate in Haslet and provide residents with better city services, Richey said.

"We have a huge lapse of city administration at certain times," he said. "If the council does it for the right reasons, I’m all for it [hiring an administrator]."

Councilman Harold Williams said previous city administrators were a waste of money and that a downturn in the national economy, not a lack of administrative leadership, is to blame for a slowdown in commercial and residential development being experienced in Haslet.

"Maybe the problem’s not in administration," Councilwoman Kathy Hopper said.

Council members agreed that city staffer David Rogers, who acts as community development director and the head of public works, is being stretched thin with a multitude of responsibilities that includes representing the city at various regional meetings. They also said that Mayor Gary Hulsey and the city’s full-time staffers are all serving the city well in their current roles.

"I think it’s a great city," Williams said. "I think we’re doing stuff right."

In other business, the council voted to hold a volunteer appreciation dinner to honor the efforts of volunteers serving on city boards or at city events. Council members suggested the dinner would be an annual event that takes place in the fall when re-appointments are made to the various city boards.

The council decided on a general volunteer recognition ceremony instead of awarding a volunteer of the year. Council members said they are concerned that giving an award to one volunteer might anger other volunteers who provided quality service to Haslet.

"I do feel like there’s a lot of folks doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work for the city," Golden said. "And they need to be recognized for it."

The council also approved a 9.58 percent increase in the monthly trash fees charged to residents by contractor Allied Waste Services. A little more than 4 percent of the increase covers Allied’s optional consumer price index increase with the remainder of the fee hike covering rising gas prices.

Owners of each residence will now pay $12.31 a month for waste disposal services – up $1.08 from the current trash collection rate. The price increase will take effect in August bills.

Allied spokeswoman Jeri Harwell said the new rate is still competitive with what other North Texas cities are charging for trash services.