Gardner City Council members approved a plan to realign city staff. Under the proposal, the city will add two employees and shifting some staff responsibilities in order to conduct city business more effectively.
“In some departments, we’re putting out fires,” city administrator Cheryl Harrison-Lee said. “And there are things that citizens should be able to walk-in and get, but they’re not able to due to time constraints.”
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Gardner also has a smaller workforce than cities of similar size beyond the Kansas City Metropolitan area. For example, McPherson, Kan., has a population of more than 13,000 and 100 employees, while Garden City, Kan., boasts more than 26,000 residents and 305 employees.
“We’re not going to ask you tonight to add another 100 or even 20 employees,” city administrator Cheryl Harrison-Lee told the council. “I would ask you to allow us to realign some assets.”
The city’s staffing numbers peaked at 128 in 2009, and has steadily declined since then. Bush said in addition to examining where the city has been, it’s important to look at where we’re going.
(Read more at the Gardner News)