RIVERSIDE

The Riverside City Council is expected to hire a temporary deputy city clerk to fill the void that will be created by the upcoming departure of City Administrator Christine Yancey.

Yancey announced her resignation in late October, but it was not accepted by three of five City Council members at the Nov. 7 meeting because they wanted more time to try to convince Yancey to remain.

At the City Council’s work session a week later, Nov. 14, Yancey said she was sticking by her decision to resign and retire from city government. Her last day of work is scheduled to be Dec. 31, but she was asked by Mayor Allen Schneider during Monday’s meeting if she would consider staying longer.

“Depends on the atmosphere, the working atmosphere,” she said.

City Council members expect the search for a new city administrator to take up to four months, once a consulting firm has been hired, which can’t happen until next Monday’s meeting.

Yancey was hired in 2019 when the city did not have a city administrator and after a search that included a $11,000 bill from a consulting firm.

“There’s a lot more going on than there was three years ago,” Council Person Edgar McGuire said. “What I don’t want to see happen is falling on our faces January first.”

Allen Schneider, who has said his workload as mayor improved after Yancey arrived, suggested the city consider hiring a deputy city clerk in addition to the current city clerk position held by Becky LaRoche so that demands on city staff are eased.

“I’d like to see some temporary help to get us through this,” Council Person Lois Schneider said.

“Within reason, things can be handled pretty easily,” Council Person Kevin Mills said.

The majority of the board agreed with moving forward on hiring an additional clerk temporarily, but whether that would turn into a permanent position was unclear.

McGuire was one of the board members in favor of expanding to a three-person staff in the city offices permanently so that the city administrator can focus more on projects rather than day-to-day duties.

“They shouldn’t be frying the french fries,” McGuire said. “They should be working on the big projects.”

“I’m not sure we need three people,” Mills said.

The questions are likely to be worked out at next Monday’s meeting, when approval will be needed to start the process on a city administrator search and the hiring of a potential deputy city clerk.

“If we’re complaining about not getting things done now, it’s not going to get any better,” Allen Schneider said.

In the meantime, the city has also begun a search for a maintenance worker. Drake Hotz will be with the city until the end of the year. He begins a new job in January with the Muscatine Fire Department.

In addition to the discussion on city staffing, the board also heard a presentation from David Tarnow, Riverside’s building permit and nuisance officer, pertaining to a number of city ordinances on noise, pool fencing, weeds, sidewalks and other property issues. No action was taken, but the board is likely to examine those ordinances in future meetings.

Next meeting: The City Council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.