Soap Lake council approves interim agreement for finance director
The Soap Lake City Council unanimously approved a temporary contract for Jeff Balentine to serve as the city's finance director. From left to right are council members Andrew Arnold, Susan Carson, Kayleen Bryson, John Carlson and Judith Gorman.
NANCE BESTON/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
SOAP LAKE — Soap Lake City Council held a special meeting Tuesday to review and approve an interim agreement for a finance director. They also continued the discussion around the job posting for a combined city administrator and finance treasurer.
The council unanimously agreed to approve a temporary contract with Jeff Balentine for interim finance director. Balentine will be a temporary employee until the city can fill its full-time position for a city administrator and finance treasurer.
Balentine had been working for the city pro bono for the last handful of months; before that, he was contracted with the city. While working pro bono, he realized he was not insured or protected by the city unless he was an employee. City Attorney Julie Norton said Balentine could not be working pro bono and also have employee protections. Therefore, she said, the council needed to approve a temporary contract with him to allow him to continue his services.
The city is looking to hire a full-time person to serve as both finance treasurer and city administrator. However, a job posting has not been posted, even though the council approved the role during budget season.
After a lengthy discussion on the contract, the council decided to approve it with changes.
“We want Jeff, and we want clarification on the specifics,” Council Member Kayleen Bryson said.
This included removing the line saying hiring for the city admin/finance treasurer could take up to 12 months. The council also changed the contract to be approved month-by-month by the council instead of on a six-month basis, even though the contract can be terminated with a 14-day notice. Other changes included fixing typos and removing the section about benefits, since Balentine is only a part-time employee.
“This is about accountability,” Council Member Susan Carson said. “I think a month-by-month contract is best for the city.”
After the contract was passed, councilmember Andrew Arnold asked Mayor Peter Sharp if the job posting for the city administrator and finance treasurer combination would be posted before the next regularly scheduled council meeting. Sharp nodded in the affirmative.