Trafalgar may soon have its first town manager to assist with growth and development.
The town council soon plans to post the job description and begin the hiring process. The motion was approved at a special meeting Tuesday, 4-0 with one member absent.
Hiring a town manager is “very much overdue” for Trafalgar, said Jason Ramey, town council president.
“The main goal is to see that we have somebody overseeing development because that has not been done properly here as a town, collectively, for probably the last 30 years,” Ramey said. “And we are trying to stop that and make things right moving forward. It’s unfortunate, we’re playing catch up big time.”
Responsibilities for the town manager will include overseeing daily operations, implementing policies set by the town council, managing municipal services and other functions. The position will follow state statute for town managers with small adjustments to fit Trafalgar’s needs, he said.
The position will be more hands-on than other town manager positions in Johnson County, Ramey said. The goal of hiring a town manager is to oversee the growth and development of the town.
Town council members are confident that an investment in a town manager will save the town money in the long run, Ramey said.
“It may be a sticker shock for the citizens here and that’s unfortunate, but that cost up front to put somebody at the forefront of the development is going to help see that we’re not going back and undoing things that weren’t done properly or catching things late that should have been done on the front side,” Ramey said.
Hiring Bryan Gregg as building commissioner last year is one example of an investment the council has made that has paid off, Ramey said. That position has minimal oversight and is part-time, but has already generated revenue by catching issues and fixing them early on, he said.
“That’s kind of why we’re moving to this so quickly is we saw the benefits just in the first few months of this year of what could be done, but it is not a job that somebody can or should take on part-time. So we need somebody in a full-time position to handle this stuff,” Ramey said.
A salary for the position hasn’t been finalized, but could potentially be up to $90,000. The actual salary given could be lowerand could be different based any benefits that are offered, he said.
Town officials struggled for months to find a utility superintendent, even after pay was increased. The council doesn’t want to see that happen with the town manager position, which is why the details are still being finalized, Ramey said.
The town had previously debated hiring a town manager during a contentious town council meeting in May 2023. After debate among town council members seated at that time, they approved a community development position. That later turned into a building commissioner position that was filled by Gregg.
In addition to the town manager position, the council also approved changing job duties of the current utility billing clerk, Judy Lasiter. She will take on a dual position to support both the utility and the future town manager. The role will now include administrative support duties and coordination within town operations. The new pay will amount to $29 an hour for part-time work, Jessica Jones, council member said at the special meeting.
“We want to emphasize the critical impact these positions will have on the future of Trafalgar and we are carefully planning our budget to reflect changes and benefit to our town with the cost of the positions and added value,” Jones said in a Facebook post.
A job description and job opening will be posted on the town’s website when it is finalized.
