Dayton Seeks Part-Time City Planner

DAYTON - City plan- ning in Dayton is no longer being handled by Columbia County and now the posi- tion is open to qualified applicants.

The city of Dayton listed the job posting last week, moving forward with the city-employed position.

Short term regular city planning had previously been provided by Columbia County for $8,000 a year. The planning job is now in the city's hands because the contract for planning services between the city and the county expired and the renewal was declined by the city council. The proposed contract denied on May 14 would have added long-term services for another $47,000, City Clerk- Treasurer Trina Cole said.

The switch wasn't antici- pated by the city, she said, and the city had budgeted for the continued contract. But when the county contract for long-term planning came to the council, they determined it was ultimate- ly too expensive.

Mayor Craig George said the council moved to deny the contract because the city didn't have the money the county wanted for the contract.

" It was too costly," George said.

Another issue with the contract was the historic preservation support, which would have to be provided by the city, and was bud- geted at $7,000, Cole said.

When the contract was brought to the city it was initially tabled before it was ultimately denied in May, Cole said. The contract would have forced the city to budget approximately $56,500 for planning ser- vices, which are now in- tended to come from a city employee. The city has about $50,500 annually for the position.

Once the contract was denied at the council, the position was created and about two and a half months later, the city is hiring.

The city is currently only hiring a part-time position but it has the potential to transition to a full-time position, Cole said.

The job posting was not unplanned; the city has been anticipating the new hire since the contract with the county was de- nied about two and a half months ago.

The new position will start at about 20-24 hours per week, Cole said.

"It's unfortunate," Co- lumbia County Commis- sioner Chuck Reeves said. "I think (the city) will get what they pay for."

Reeves said there are people qualified for the city planner in the Dayton community, but he doesn't think they are looking for part-time jobs.

Columbia County Planning Commission Director Richard Hendricksen said the county was not doing any future or long-term planning or any code enforcement for the city of Dayton.

Hendricksen said there had been discussion between the commissions and the mayor about combining the planning commissions so the county staff could do all of the city planning, but after the local agreement between the city and the county ran out last year and the contract was declined, the city took over all plan- ning.