The Kenai City Council adopted a resolution that amends the employee classification plan by changing the title of the accountant class of employees to a controller and increasing its range. A previous ordinance adopted the annual budget, salary schedule, and employee classification plan for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2022 and ending July 30, 2023. The annual budget includes a current employee classification and range for an accountant class at a range 21 under the Administrative Support category with authorized staffing for one position.
Finance Director Terry Eubank tells the Kenai City Council:
“This does just amend, actually what was adopted in the budget, the classification plan to change the account position to the controller position. This is the final step. The funds were appropriated during the budget. This just actually changes the position itself. It’s been reviewed and graded by HR, and it’s gone through our process now.”
Reclassifying the existing position to a controller position in the supervisory and professional category with additional budget preparation, financial statement preparation, and supervisory responsibilities will improve workload distribution and allows for greater opportunities for cross-training, succession planning, and flexibility in staffing within the Finance Department.
The proposed change doesn’t result in an increase to the annual budget, as the amendment to provide funding to increase the range of the accountant position to a controller position was included in the ordinance adopting the annual budget. The accountant position will become vacant on August 6, 2022, which creates a vacancy in a critical position in the Finance Department.