City Council Discusses Proposal To Replace Deputy City Clerk Position With Finance Officer

A proposal by Glenwood City Administrator / Finance Director Courtney Harter to replace the city’s vacant deputy city clerk position with a “finance officer” received a mixed reaction from city council members last week.

Harter said the recent departure of deputy city clerk Justice Lewis has opened an opportunity for the city to create a new position for a person with expertise in municipal finance that could take on some of the day-to-day responsibilities currently falling on the shoulders of the city administrator / finance director.

Harter, who was hired in June to replace former city administrator / finance director Mitch Kolf, told council members last week she and Mayor Angie Winquist have had discussions on how responsibilities can be restructured at City Hall between the city administrator / finance director, city clerk and the third position.

“One of the things that we recognize and I think that you guys have recognized that at this point we really need someone who has a better finance background that can be understanding of things perhaps better than myself,” Harter told council members. “I do think there are a few things that can be rearranged. Can we move things around to have someone around that has a better finance background?

“Ideally, we get someone with a municipal background. If we can attract the right person who has that experience, whether they have their certified municipal officer training or we send them so they get that, depending on what their background is, that would be ideal.”

Harter said she wanted to be clear that the finance officer position she’s proposing wouldn’t replace her own functionality as the city finance director. Harter said she would still maintain oversight over the finance officer. Assigning some of the finance duties to the finance officer would allow Harter to focus more of her attention on the administrative side of her job.

“I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know if I will have time to dedicate it the way that I wish I could with all the other pieces and parts that are coming up,” she said. “And to hire someone at the same level as a deputy clerk, we will get someone who can do data entry and that will be all that we get from that position.”

Council member Christina Duran was receptive to Harter’s proposal.

“I really like this because I think one of the strengths that you come with is community development and I don’t feel like you have the time to do any of that,” said Duran. “Policy, forecasting, just thinking about how we can grow because you’re too busy doing the day-to-day stuff. This would really, I think, clear up some of that time.”

Council member Natalie McEwen had a different take on the proposal.

“Our budget is set for this year – for ’27. I imagine the salary for this role would be higher than what Justice was being paid,” said McEwen. “You’re wanting to add in a higher level of education, experience with finance. I think that the role should probably be refilled with the exact same position that is budgeted for this year.

“We’re paying you a really good salary and you’re brand new to the role. Having oversight over somebody else doing the finance that you still don’t have your hands wrapped fully around, I’d love to see you have the time to really get an understanding of our finances for the city. Having oversight over somebody that’s going to be doing it, you need to be able to do itself yourself, right?”

Council member Donnie Kates also expressed concern about the impact hiring a finance officer instead of a deputy clerk would have on the budget.

“We’re stretched thin as can be right now,” he said. “I understand the whole added position and what that could bring, but we don’t even know what we’re going to get as far as taxes. Where are we going to be at?”

Duran said if the council doesn’t move forward with hiring a person with a finance background, Harter needs to be up front with the city council if she’s having difficulty getting everything done and the council needs to work with her on prioritizing tasks.

“We lost somebody because it was too much,” Duran said, referring to former city administrator Mitch Kolf. “Now, we have someone telling us up front it’s too much.”

McEwen responded to Duran’s statement.

“But it was the job she was hired for and it was clearly articulated,” McEwen said. “There’s a job description and the expectation that you complete the job.”

Harter said she currently spends about 85% of her time doing administrative functions and her intent of making the open position a finance officer is to bring someone in who can hit the ground running and immediately take on some of the major finance-related responsibilities. She added that Kolf also made it clear before he left that he struggled with balancing the workload of the position.

“It is not a one-person job,” Harter said.

Council member Tim Reinert said having the word “officer” in the job title creates the expectation of a higher salary than that of a deputy clerk. He suggested taking the time to sort out responsibilities and create an entry-level position that includes some financial data entry duties.

“I think this is a thoughtful decision we really have to take our time with and make sure that we’re identifying the right level of person to support you and something we can afford in the city budget, obviously.,” he said. “There’s other departments that have staffing needs as well.”

Harter was hired to replace Kolf in June at a starting annual salary of $130,000. Kolf was hired with a starting salary of $115,000, a nearly $40,000 increase from the $76,000 his predecessor Amber Farnan was being paid. In addition to the increase in the city administrator / finance director’s salary, the city council also approved a substantial pay raise for the city clerk position in 2025.

In calendar year 2025, the published salaries for Glenwood’s three City Hall positions - city administrator / finance director, city clerk and deputy city clerk - totaled just over $226,000. Additonally, the city paid a private recruiting firm $18,000 to coordinate the hiring process to replace Farnan when she left after being elected county auditor in 2024 and paid $12,000 to the same firm earlier this year to find a replacement for Kolf, who left for a position in Kansas City after being on the job in Glenwood for 17 months.

The council took no action last week on Harter’s proposal but is expected to address the issue again at its regular meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8.