In a sign of recovering economic times, the City of Turlock will be hiring an Administrative Services Director, a position that has not been filled since 2009.

Adopted into the budget in June in a 4-1 vote, the Administrative Services Director will be in charge of payroll, budgetary issues, and revenue tracking for the City. Councilmember Forrest White cast the lone dissenting vote against the motion to realign City personnel at the June 10 meeting, which included the Administrative Services Director, one of several resolutions pertaining to the 2014-2015 budget.

“I wasn’t against the position itself, instead I was against (the administrative department) losing its responsibility for computer services,” said White, who noted that the meeting focused on a slew of reorganizations including shifting Information Technology services to fall under the purview of the Turlock Police Department. “I was philosophically against it and felt that administrative services should be controlling the data.”

According to Human Resources Manager Sarah Tamey Eddy the position was left vacant in 2009 due to “budgetary constraints.” The City Manager has since picked up the slack and White said the new position will allow the City Manager to attend to “big picture issues.”

“I think economically we can afford it but the reality is that Turlock is a city without an assistant city manager or financial person, which most cities, including small ones, have,” said White.

City Manager Roy Wasden presently fills the gaps in the financial and administrative departments and while he said he will still be “deeply involved” in the financial processes, the new position “will lift a large burden.”

Today marks the closing date for applications for the position of the Administrative Services Director, with a monthly salary ranging from $10,026 to $12,187. Duties include financial planning, budgeting, accounting and auditing, treasury cash management, and billing of accounts. The Director is responsible for the direction of the finance, payroll, and human resources divisions and oversees the preparation of the annual budget and serves as consultant with other City officials in financial accounting practices.