Negaunee resident Rhonda Gravedoni, standing right, expresses concern about funding for a proposed deputy director position in the Department of Public Works during a regular Negaunee City Council meeting Thursday. The council will consider creating the position at a special meeting April 30. (Journal photo by Lisa Bowers)

NEGAUNEE — The Negaunee City Council set a special meeting at the end of April to discuss the details of filling two job postings as well as a new position proposed by the city manager during Thursday’s regular meeting.

The positions discussed at the meeting, which is slated for 6 p.m. April 30, will be the vacant director position at the Department of Public Works, the Planning and Zoning Administrator position created during the 2018 budget process, and a deputy director position for the DPW proposed by the City Manager Nate Heffron.

The anticipated cost for the planning and zoning administrator was expected to be $56,750 per year, according to the 2018 budget, with all costs related to position set to come out of the city’s general fund. Heffron told the council he had not received any potential applicants after the job had been posted for 30 days.

Heffron said pay scale for the positions might be part of the issue when trying to attract employees to the city.

“We can’t draw people with the wages that they had picked and I don’t know what steps (the council) took to determine those,” Heffron said during an interview after the meeting. “We are not going to give away the farm, but we need qualified people.”

An item concerning the positions was added to the agenda at the beginning of Thursday’s meeting, which elicited concern from Negaunee business-owner Tonja Acker-Richards.

“At the last minute, (the council) puts on an issue — a very important issue, that no one seems to know anything about on the agenda,” Acker-Richards said. “Where is the so-called transparency?”

Blight Committee member and business owner Rhonda Gravedoni said she heard about the proposed deputy DPW director position from one of her customers, and requested that the council conduct an “in-depth discussion” before deciding whether to create the position.

“Looking back, and correct me if I’m wrong — I don’t think there has ever been that position. At this point in time, what is our population in Negaunee, 5,100 people? My number one concern is the money,” Gravedoni said. “If this is a decision that is made, where is the money going to come from to fund not only the salary, but the retirement package and the insurance? This is a big thing for such a small community.”

Heffron said the reason for the proposed creation of a deputy DPW director position is the inability to find qualified DPW director candidates during a recent statewide search, citing a “massive shortage” of individuals with the required skill set for the job.

Heffron said he would like Don Larson, who has held been the interim DPW director since former director Gerald Koski left the position in July, to take over the position on a more permanent basis.

“My concern is that he may want to retire soon, and how do we replace him if that happens,” Heffron said. “That deputy position will more or less be used for training that person up (for the DPW director position.)”

The employees holding the three positions would not be members of the labor union, Heffron said.

“I want to have a disconnect between the union (members) and the person who is going to be in charge of them,” Heffron told the council. “The people involved do know that the positions are non-union.”