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City to contact Brimeyer Group about clerk/administrator hire
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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
The City of Caledonia will be opening up the lines of communications with the Brimeyer Group to possibly conduct a search and hire program for a new city clerk/administrator. By a 4-1 (with Councilwoman Randi Vick dissenting), the council agreed to contact the Twin Cities recruitment firm. The decision to contact the Brimeyer Group was made during the Oct. 26 council meeting.
The council has labored unsuccessfully for the past five months on finding a replacement for long-time clerk/administrator Bob Nelson, who retired Oct. 9.
Last spring the council took a hard look at contracting the Brimeyer Group to conduct a search and hire program. With a price tag of between $15,000 and $18,000 to find “the perfect fit” for Caledonia, the city council voted 3-2 not to hire the Hopkins-based company.
While a number of good candidates applied for the position, and much time was taken with the interview process, council members didn’t feel they had found the right person.
“We’ve tried it on our own and are at the same place we were (in April),” Mayor Bob Burns said. “Do we have the Brimeyer Group handle this now?”
With Nelson retired and Administrative Coordinator Mike Gerardy serving as interim clerk/administrator, Burns said he felt the city staff would be overtaxed to help with the scheduling of candidates and sitting in on the exhausting interview process, if the city decided to go it alone again.
A number of council members had expressed concern over the anticipated wage scale a Brimeyer candidate might bring to the table. Burns said he would be willing to talk to the Brimeyer Group again if this issue could be addressed first. Councilwoman Peggy Perry agreed.
Council member Tom Murphy said although the anticipated cost of hiring the Brimeyer Group to conduct the search and hire program was pretty steep, he pointed out the city is saving money right now by not having both a clerk/administrator and an administrative coordinator. Gerardy has agreed to serve as interim clerk/administrator for up to six months. But he stressed he is not interested in being named the permanent clerk/administrator.
Burns, Perry, Murphy and Councilman Bob Lemke all said they would like to contact the Brimeyer Group to see if a workable agreement could be worked out.
In other council action:
Gerardy’s salary increased
By a 4-1 vote the council approved a motion to increase Gerardy’s salary to the same hourly rate that former clerk/administrator Nelson was receiving, which was $31.27 per hour. In making the motion to increase the salary, Burns said if Gerardy is doing the work and taking on the extra responsibilities involved with the clerk/administrator’s position, he should be paid for it. His motion was seconded by Perry. Vick voted against the motion.
Vick then asked the council if Gerardy would be receiving the higher wage in the event he would have to plow snow. Gerardy replied with the extra work involved in serving as the clerk/administrator and still trying conduct his duties as zoning administrator, he didn’t know if he’d have time to plow snow as well.
Vick asked about emergencies. Gerardy said he thought it would be prudent for the city to have several persons lined to serve as part-time plow operators, who would be “more reasonably priced.”
Burns instructed Gerardy to move forward with that line of thinking and said he would check with the city’s insurance carrier to see if there would be any insurance issues.
Monitor for ambulance service
The council unanimously approved a motion to spend $10,000 to help purchase a new monitor system for one of the city’s ambulances. The city had originally budgeted $15,000 to purchase the monitor in 2009. But due to LGA cuts last winter, the monitor was cut from the budget.
Last summer the Caledonia Area Ambulance Service put on a fundraiser to raise money to help purchase the monitor. The community responded with overwhelming support. Shortly after the fund-raising event Ambulance Director Mike Tornstrom asked the council if the city and ambulance service could jointly purchase the monitor.
The city was reluctant to make a commitment at that time. Tornstrom made a challenge to the council that if the ambulance service had a good year and was in good financial shape by the end of the year they would use the majority of the money they raised to help with the purchase and the city would pay for the rest.
Burns reported at the Oct. 26 meeting that the ambulance service was having a good year and in good financial shape. He felt it was time to honor Tornstrom’s challenge and made a motion to spend $10,000 for the monitor, which Perry seconded. The Ambulance service will pay the other $5,000.
You can contact Charlie Warner at
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