HOPE — Hope Town Council members have approved a revised job description for a town manager while making some modifications to what the Main Street of Hope executive director is paid.
The revisions require the successful candidate for town manager to keep the council updated on his or her specific activities, as well as visit every business in the community at least once per year. The town manager will also be required to bring specific information and findings they have learned before the council, so that elected officials will have information on how best how to proceed with a particular situation, council members said.
“(Revisions) cover nearly everything the council had discussed during their past two meetings,” councilman Clyde Compton said.
The town is now accepting applications for town manager, a job that has been vacant since the end of 2018.
A town manager is essentially the chief administrative officer of community government. But unlike a mayor, the manager is a municipal employee who serves at the pleasure of the town council. The town manager is also expected to take a lead in economic development efforts, as well as seek and apply for financial grants, council members said.
Although a salary has not been discussed, the last town manager, J.T. Doane, earned $54,060 during his final year at the job.
The town plans to advertise the position and list it with at least one employment agency recommended by Bartholomew County government officials, Compton said.
Due to the inclement weather earlier this month, the council agreed to set a new deadline of March 31 for submitting applications.
Although the executive director of Main Street of Hope is not a municipal employee, the town does pay that person’s salary with economic development income tax (EDIT) revenue collected from the community.
After meeting recently with retiring executive director Susan Thayer Fye, an initial proposal was considered by the EDIT committee that her successor’s salary cannot exceed $9,600 annually, which is $800 a month for 12 months, Compton said.
But committee members didn’t support that proposal because the town had no jurisdiction over what the director does or how many hours of work they put into the job, the councilman said. Most decisions regarding the program are made by an eight-member Main Street of Hope board of directors.
“While we fund this salary, the town doesn’t have anything to do with choosing who fills this position,” Compton said. “Nobody is certain who will succeed Susan at this time.”
The EDIT committee eventually decided to set an hourly rate of $15 for the director, with an annual wage ceiling of $9,600. Fye’s successor will also be required to turn in a time sheet that states how many hours were worked, as well as a report that outlines what they did during those hours. The report and time sheet will be due the Friday before the regular monthly council meeting.
While Thayer Fye earned $10,800 a year over the past few years, the EDIT committee determined her successor won’t have as large of a burden because the town square renovation is essentially complete, Compton said.
Main Street of Hope is part of the Indiana Office Of Community and Rural Affairs, and is designed to revitalize a community’s unique buildings and heritage.
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Grant writing will remain a major responsibility for the person chosen to head the Main Street of Hope organization.
For example, executive director Susan Thayer Fye outlined four grant opportunities on Tuesday opportunities that her organization is seeking.
- A $75,000 grant from the Heritage Fund – the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County.
- A $25,000 matching grant from the Custer Nugent Foundation.
- A $10,000 matching grant from the Columbus Area Visitors Center.
Fye said she is also seeking a $15,000 Main Street promotional grant that will help Hope retailers learn the best practices for selling their goods online.
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