Williston City Clerk Latricia Wright smiles after a favorable job review.

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                Williston City Clerk Latricia Wright saw her annual salary increased to $50,000 Tuesday night following her first job review by the city council.

            She had been making $42,000.

            Wright has moved up through the ranks in city government working first in the planning department as an assistant and later becoming the administrative secretary for the code enforcement board.

            The council didn’t realize Wright had never given up her code enforcement duties when she assumed the job of clerk. She was actually doing two jobs at the same time.

              The subject of having two jobs surfaced when Wright was asked by Councilwoman Marguerite Robinson during the job review if the position of clerk “was a bit more than you can chew.”

            Wright said she wasn’t overwhelmed by the clerk’s job, but when she first accepted the position she was asked how long she could do both jobs, clerk and code enforcement. She thought the code enforcement duties would eventually be assigned to another employee. It never happened.

            Mayor Jerry Robinson pointed out that Wright sometimes sends out an agenda and realizes she needs to amend it and then sends out a second agenda. He asked her to explain that practice.

            Another council member said her minutes of meetings weren’t very detailed. Wright said legal counsel told her the minutes were supposed to be a summary of the proceedings.

            Wright said there are a lot of things she has to learn. She acknowledged that sometimes she sends out revised agendas. She said she is taking courses that will lead to her certification as clerk, but some of the courses will cost $100 to $200. The council gave her permission to continue taking the necessary courses.

            Robinson said he felt too much time was being taken away from Wright as the clerk by having to do a second job in code enforcement.

            “I don’t think she should be doing both jobs,” Robinson said. “I think she could do a lot better job if she doesn’t have to do both.”

            Council President Charles Goodman told Wright she is a charter officer of city government, not someone’s assistant.

            “You are no longer a secretary; you are not a helper; I want you to make that transition with more authority,” he said.

            Wright said it takes two years to become a state certified clerk. Each time she goes to a conference to become a clerk she earns points. She said she has earned 32 points.

            She was asked to gauge the strength of her resolve to earn a clerk’s certification.

            Wright said a conference that had been scheduled for June was cancelled due to the coronavirus but has been rescheduled as a virtual teleconference in July and it is her intention to participate.

            She said her drive to become a certified clerk is “very strong.”

            The board’s newest member, Debra Jones, said she is satisfied with what Wright is doing.

            “I didn’t know you were doing code enforcement,” Jones said.

            Jones said code enforcement has always fallen under the planning department. She added that there should be a clerk’s evaluation form for the council to use in job reviews.

            Councilman Elihu Ross gave Wright the biggest compliment.

            “Personally I think she’s done a great job, but I didn’t know about the code enforcement thing,” he said.

            The council indicated the code enforcement duties would be reassigned.

City of Williston Regular Meeting May 19, 2020; Posted May 21, 2020