SCOTT CITY VIEWS HIRING ADMINISTRATOR

SCOTT CITY -- The Scott City Council is considering hiring a city administrator to run the day-to-day business of the city.

On Monday, members tossed about the idea at the urging of Scott City Mayor Larry Forhan. In 1985, the Scott City Council passed an ordinance establishing the office and responsibilities of a city administrator.

Forhan implored the council Monday to pass a resolution to allow the city to advertise the position, accept resumes and begin the hiring process. But a majority of the council members were hesitant to proceed too rapidly.

"I believe the time has come for this city to hire an administrator," said Ward 1 Councilwoman Brenda Moyers. "But I think we should give this a little more consideration. We need to set up salary guidelines, and review the job description to fit our current needs."

Ward 3 Councilman Ron Oller agreed. "Good city administrators more than pay for themselves with the grant money they secure for their cities," he said. "We've needed one for a long time."

Forhan said, "I don't think we should drag our feet on this. We need a full-time person to run this $1.5 million business of ours. A city administrator can help with the economic and industrial growth of the city."

The council will review the 1985 ordinance prior to the March 15 regular meeting, where it will discuss salary, benefits and job description.

In other action, the council passed an ordinance Monday requiring all persons driving a motor vehicle on city streets to carry proof of insurance.

"Even if the owner of the car does not have insurance, the operator must," said Forhan. The ordinance also allows a 48-hour grace period for those who do not have the card in their car to present proof to the police or to City Attorney Francis Siebert.

The council also passed an ordinance assessing an additional $1 court cost for all municipal cases, to benefit the Women's Safehouse in Cape Girardeau.

Oller told the council that the Public Works committee had authorized the purchase of a plow-blade, which fits on the front end of a pickup truck to use to clear snow from the streets.

After last week's snowfall, the city had no immediate means of clearing the streets since all of the equipment was down. After the purchase of the blade Saturday, Oller said public works department employees cleared most of the city streets in a few hours.