Council approves budget amendments to add engineering and finance staff amid rising CIP workload

Council approved a FY27 budget amendment on Sept. 8 to increase the capital projects manager position from 0.6 FTE to 1.0 FTE, adding $104,783 in funding to make the role full time. LaDonna Snellbaker, presenting the request, said increased CIP complexity and new grant funding created a need for "additional capacity for requirements, coordination across town departments, and external stakeholders." She told council the $104,783 figure reflects a fully loaded cost for the added 0.4 FTE.

Council members said the town had previously trimmed staff and urged better long-range workforce planning, but several supported the amendment given the scale of recent grant awards. Council member Stout framed the change as prudent, saying the town had recently received $7,000,000 in grants that make appropriate project management investment worthwhile. The council voted to approve the amendment. The meeting also included motions to add a part-time accounting specialist ($21,350) and to establish a utility billing specialist as a full-time position funded by water and wastewater funds (additional $19,825). Council asked the interim town manager to provide a staffing plan to avoid repeated piecemeal changes.