CARLSBAD — A new position to handle day-to-day operations for the city was approved during Tuesday’s council meeting.
The new Chief Operations Officer (COO) will oversee department heads and other staff, while the finance manager director position will be eliminated.
The council approved an ordinance to direct the change.
According to Julie Clark, human resources director, the COO will report to City Manager Kevin Crawford. As for the finance manager, Assistant City Manager Gary Barberio said the position has been vacant for several years.
In addition, the city will also use the existing assistant city manager vacancy, or full-time equivalency, to fill the newly created position, Clark said.
The cost, however, will be minimized, she added, as a maximum of a $51,000 increase annually to the city manager’s budget would be allowed. However, those costs are already accounted for in the next two budget cycles and are covered with salary savings from vacant positions, Clark explained.
Currently, the city manager is charged with overseeing administration of city affairs and organizing city positions.
Crawford, who was hired in February, helped in developing the new position and the city’s current needs, according to Clark.
An assessment conducted by the city determined the considerations for the recommendation are community vision, council goals and policy direction, administrative leadership, workforce development, the complexity of the regulatory environment and industry trends.
As for the COO, Clark’s presentation said the job requires providing support to department directors and staff and must bring a high level of business acumen to the day-to-day operations in a public sector setting.
The new structure would require only public safety to report directly to Crawford, while the other departments would be under the COO.
