The city has two big job openings to fill and Mayor John Lombardi III said Wednesday finding a replacement for one of them is being delayed by aldermen on the Common Council.
Currently, the city is looking to fill its city clerk position, recently vacated by Sarah Lanzo and its director of engineering, vacated by Steve Pump in February.
Lombardi has proposed hiring a “project manager” to lead the engineering department, which would cut the $83,000 post by about $10,000 a year.
But on Wednesday, Aldermen Mark Devine, 3rd Ward, and Margaret Lupo, 5th Ward, voted against recognizing the project manager position at the city’s business meeting.
“I’m a little disappointed. I can’t run the city without the full participation of the aldermen,” he said, adding that the earliest the position can be approved is on Aug. 28 when the resolution can be voted on again.
A difference between the two positions is the project manager would have less responsibility and would work with consultant engineers to execute projects. A director of engineering would execute such projects without oversight by a consulting engineer.
It’s that lack of responsibility that Devine and Lupo disagreed with and why they voted against recognizing the position, effectively killing the resolution for the time being.
“We don’t need a project manager, we need a director of engineering,” Devine said after the meeting, and Lupo agreed.
As for the other open position, Lombardi indicated that when it comes to Lanzo’s job he intends to take his time.
“I’m looking before I leap,” he said, and added that there are no specifications for the job, which is an at-will post, but that he considered the job to be “important in my administration.”
Also at that meeting, the council unanimously agreed to pay Lanzo up to $4,000 for consulting services once a new city clerk is found. Currently, Emily Stoddard, deputy city clerk, has taken on the responsibilities of city clerk.