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City hires meter reader, works to fill economic development position  Share
Brent Shull got the job and the city is getting standardized hiring practices. Casey City Council unanimously approved the hiring of Brent Shull for the position of utility meter reader, after voting against the hire at the previous meeting. He is replacing 28-year veteran, Billie Watts, who is retiring. A vote on Sept. 9 ended in a tie-breaking ''no'' by Mayor Scott Elkins, who explained at the time that it was the process, not the candidate he was voting against. As a result, the mayor is recommending a standardization of the city's hiring practices. His suggestions at the Sept. 21 meeting include pre-qualifying testing, standardized interviews, consistent number of interviewees and a review of the 30-day probation period to possibly include extensions and when to initiate benefits based on supervisors' formal evaluation. Elkins explained that he had meet with the utility committee and ''we can do things better going forward.''
''It's important to give everyone in the community a chance at these jobs,'' he said. Another position, that of economic development director, remains unfilled, but the council, Casey Industries and Casey Chamber of Commerce continue to work in that direction. Alderman Tom Monken reported that representatives of the three entities met to discuss the position and previously interviewed candidates. None of them were hired, although one of them declined a job offer. It was decided to interview an additional candidate from the original pool, and if that person was not hired, to ''aggressively'' extend their recruiting efforts to area universities and perhaps consider an internship arrangement. In other personnel related matters, the council unanimously approved Debbie Hutton, Assistant Collector and Park Recreation Director, to full-time status with benefits, and ratified an earlier agreed upon $1 per hour pay increase for Police Officer Brent Clapp, who was recently promoted to lieutenant. A fall citywide cleanup was finalized. This effort will coincide with the Casey In Action used appliance pickup, which is slated for Saturday, Oct. 31. The city will provide dumpsters at the utility garage on Southeast Eight Street from 7 a.m. to noon and 1 to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Oct. 26-31. This service is restricted to city residents and will be manned by city employees. Details of both projects will be published on the utility bills sent out Oct. 1. Alderman Moe Wimbley recommended reopening bids for city hall improvements. Only two qualified bids, for separate parts of the project, were received in the initial solicitation. The second round of bids for work that includes both heating and air and carpentry, will be due at 2 p.m. Oct. 14. The city hall committee will meet at 6 p.m. that day for bid review. For more information regarding the Casey City Council meeting of Sept. 21, please see the Oct. 1 edition of the Casey Reporter. Marcy Shonk is a staff reporter for the Casey Reporter.
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