(Atlantic) The Atlantic City Council on Wednesday voted to approve the creation of the position of Parks and Recreation Coordinator, the job description and set compensation for Fiscal Year 2024.
On July 10th, the Personnel and Finance Committee met and reviewed losing another Parks and Recreation Director. During this meeting, the Committee recommended that the city re-orient resources towards Code Enforcement and Economic Development. With this decision, the Committee recommended the duties of the park’s director be split between two individuals, the public works director and a new position, Parks & Recreation Coordinator.
During the Public Forum portion of the meeting, Atlantic resident Frank Saddlemire spoke out against the change. He says past Park and Rec Directors have generated many ideas over the past 16 years.
This new position will be a revamped position of the current Assistant Parks & Recreation Director. The Parks and Recreation Department is a division of the Public Works Department and is grouped with the Street Department, Wastewater Treatment Plant, Code Enforcement, and Animal Control.
Atlantic City Administrator John Lund says the city will save $71,904 and a potential city health care plan enrollee. Because of these savings, the Committee suggested the council approve the following actions:
The Parks Coordinator position will be $50,000, an increase of $4,419.71 for the Assistant Parks Director Position. Resetting wages for seasonal park staff. This was recommended, as the city needs to remain competitive with its compensation. The local Walmart currently has a starting salary of $14, while the Parks & Recreation seasonal staff earn between $11.00 and $13.91. I am adjusting the compensation range from $14.00 to $17.00, increasing by $7,263.41. Other recommended changes include promoting Code Enforcement, Animal Control, and Wastewater Operator Kris Erickson to a Full Department Head. This promotion would be an increase of $4853.35.
Lund says another change would be adding a second code enforcement officer. The cost is not determined at this time. The final recommendation is a compensation increase of $11,025 for the Public Works Director. This aligns with the increased responsibilities of the Parks Department and the three departments he supervises. This increase is also standard for the cost-saving proposal relating to the 2024-2030 Street Improvement Program. The total operating expenditures are to increase by $27,561.47 initially. If recommendations are taken, this leads to a net annual savings of $44,342.53 in operational costs.
