Williston Clerk Gets Bigger Pay Boost from Council

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

Williston City Clerk Latricia Wright saw her annual salary boosted to $60,000 Tuesday due in part to a $1 per hour increase she was promised when became certified and partly because the raise she was given two weeks ago for having a super high job performance score didn’t amount to much.

City Council members learned at the board meeting that her 4.5 percent job performance score, which was just short of perfect, would have given her $1.14 more per hour and raised her annual salary to $55,287. The extra $1 she was promised for getting state certified would have elevated her to $57,367.

City Manager Terry Bovaird, who has worked as the manager for less than a year, told the council when he saw Wright would receive a $1.14 per hour raise for scoring 4.5 out of a possible 5 in her job evaluation by the council, he felt the increase wasn’t as much as she deserved considering what she does for the city.

“Latricia made my transition fairly easy. I don’t know how the past administration worked, but she and I work hand in hand daily. There are not times that she doesn’t check my work and I don’t check her work,” he said. “I would have to say I was a little surprised that you could have such a high score and get so little for it,” Bovaird said.

He said Wright didn’t bring this issue of pay to his attention. He brought it to her attention and they had a discussion about it. He said Jones’ decision to bring this matter to the attention of the council started with him.

“I just want you to realize how important she is to the city and staff and how important she is to me, how she pushes me to do the things I don’t want to do. I’ll be the first one to admit that. Without her, I think it would be difficult for me to do the things I have done,” Bovaird said.

Wright was recently certified through the Florida Association of City Clerks which uses the International Institute of Clerks curriculum to grant certifications. Wright also received permission from the council to work toward a Master Municipal Clerk certification. Money is set aside in the clerk’s budget for continuing education funded by the city.

Jones asked city staff well before the meeting to contact other cities of about the same size in this area to determine how much clerks and deputy clerks are paid and how long they have served in their positions. Wright has worked for the city 12 years and served as the clerk since 2019.

By comparison, the deputy clerk in Chiefland earns $51,977 annually. Her current salary includes the $4 per hour raise given to all city employees last year. She had been earning $43,651 previously.

Chiefland City Manager Laura Cain, in a phone interview, said Deputy Clerk Belinda Wilkerson definitely deserves more pay but she said the city’s revenues are limited. Wilkerson has been the clerk for two years.

In Bronson, the deputy city clerk earns $36,608 annually. Bronson has a much smaller tax base than Chiefland or Williston. Deputy Clerk Wendy Maragh has served for two years.

In Cedar Key, where there is no city manager, the clerk earns $52,500 annually. Jones was told that she has served for a year but is likely to get a raise.

In Dunnellon, where there is no city manager, the clerk administrator serves in both roles and earns $74,256 annually. She has worked for the city 23 years, rising from assistant clerk to clerk administrator.

In the City of Alachua, the city manager does all the work of the clerk. Jones said the deputy city clerk earns $70,500 and the assistant deputy clerk earns $35,000.

Jones said she is aware that the Williston City Council raised the salaries of all the department heads when the council felt it was necessary. Wright is a constitutional officer under the city charter, not a department head, but Jones felt she deserved the same consideration as department heads.

“I think this may be the perfect time to do that for Latricia even if we pick an arbitrary number like $60,000,” Jones said.

Councilman Zach Bullock asked if the council budgeted for a raise of that size. Jones said the only money that was currently in the budget for Wright was her current salary of $52,907. Any future salary, whether $57,000, which was guaranteed, or $60,000, would have to be funded through a budget amendment.

Bullock made the motion to increase Wright’s salary to $60,000. Councilman Michael Cox seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.