Taft council honors retiring clerk Yvette Mayfield and unanimously appoints deputy Faith Melton as city clerk

The Taft City Council on Jan. 20 presented a proclamation honoring outgoing City Clerk Yvette Mayfield for her years of service and unanimously appointed deputy city clerk Faith Melton to the post effective Jan. 20, 2026.

Mayfield, who joined Taft in 2013 after grant-administration work in Wasco and for the Tejon Indian Tribe, was recognized in a council proclamation listing her administrative work on city grants, the Taft City Hall remodel, and housing rehabilitation programs. In the ceremony, Mayfield thanked the council and staff and endorsed her successor.

City Manager Jones reminded the council that voters in November 2022 approved Measure Q and that Ordinance No. 850-22 (codified at municipal code section 1-19-6) changed the clerk from an elected to an appointed position. The council moved and, after a roll-call vote, approved the appointment on a unanimous 3–0 vote.

During the swearing-in, the appointee repeated the oath on the record. The motion and initial staff paperwork identified the appointee as Faith Melton; the oath transcript records the name as "Faith Milton." The council recessed for five minutes for photos following the ceremony.

"I have nothing prepared because that's who I am," Mayfield told the council in brief remarks, later adding that she believed Faith would "serve you well." Mayor and council members expressed appreciation for Mayfield's service and wished her well in retirement.

The council did not set additional duties or policy changes tied to the clerk appointment at the meeting; the appointment takes effect immediately and the clerk will assume statutory duties including maintaining records, preparing agendas and minutes, and administering municipal elections per the municipal code.