7. EDSR 08-08-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ji Elk REQUEST FOR ACTION River TO ITEM NUMBER Economic Develo ment Authori 7 , AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY 8 August 2011 Annie Deckert, Director of Economic Develo ment ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By Consider hiring Assistant Director of Economic Development Bob Thistle, Interim City Administrator REVIEWED BY ACTION REQUESTED Staff recommends hiring Clay Wilfahrt as the Assistant Director of Economic Development BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION On June 6, 2011, the City Council authorized moving forward with the hiring process for the Assistant Economic Development Director position. At the June 13`'' EDA meeting, the EDA directed staff to look into the EDA's involvement in the hiring process of the Assistant Economic Development Director. In speaking with attorney Jenny Boulton, Kennedy Graven, Ms. Boulton indicated the EDA bylaws and state statute indicated the EDA could make the final decision when hiring economic development staff. At the July 11, 2011 meeting, the EDA requested staff to further research the matter and return to the EDA with a written summary from Ms. Boulton. Since then, Ms. Boulton and City Attorney Peter Beck have concluded the City Council has the authority to make the final decision when hiring City staff. Because the EDA is staffed by City employees, the City Council is the only entity with the authority to hire City employees. A staff interview committee recently completed interviews consisting of seven candidates out of 27 applicants for the position. The committee consisted of the Director of Economic Development, City Engineer and Human Resources Representative. The interview committee recommends hiring Clay Wilfahrt as the Assistant Director of Economic Development. Mr. Wilfahrt has accepted, upon Council approval, starting at Pay Grade 8, Step A. Mr. Wilfahrt graduated from St. John's University with a Bachelor of Axts in Political Science and has completed courses at the graduate level in the Local Government Management Program at the U of M Mankato. He is currently to Director of Economic Development for the Hartford South Dakota Area Development Commission and gives direction to a Board of Directors and four committees. He has experience implementing social media, marketing and material creation for government entities, retail and industrial recruitment, grant writing and sits on a County Economic Development Authority which administers a revolving loan program. Staff will work with Mr. Wilfahrt to determine start date. Staff is seeking EDA approval to move forward with hiring Clay Wilfahrt as the Assistant Director of N:\Departments\Community Development\Economic Development\ED Admin\Assistant\8-8-11 Action Requested- EDA.doc