By Ryan Lewis
Correspondent
SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — City commissioners unanimously appointed City Recorder Mary Faye Payne as South Pittsburg’s first certified municipal finance officer.
The city was under state mandate to fill the position before Jan. 1.
Though Payne had been doing the job of the town’s unofficial financial officer for years, she completed an extensive certification process, including 80 hours of course and lab work, through the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, officials said.
“The thing I would see different here is hiring this person under this [state mandate] makes her immediately legally responsible for millions of dollars,” Mayor Mike Killian said. “She’s already been doing the job. On Jan. 1, she’s going to have a lot more legal responsibility there.”
Killian did not vote on the matter because he is related to Payne.
As the official finance officer, her salary will increase $15,000, but city leaders said they wanted to stick with past employee hiring practices when distributing that raise.
“It’s been a practice of the city at all levels since I’ve been with the board that we don’t start anyone out with the top part of the salary,” Commissioner Charles Reynolds said. “We’ve worked them up to it.”
Under the city’s personnel policy, new employees are hired under a six-month probationary period, officials said.
Board members decided that Payne’s salary immediately will be raised $5,000. Then, in three months, it will be raised another $5,000. After the six-month probationary period is over, it will be raised to the full $15,000, officials said.
“I’m not trying to say she’s not doing the job,” Reynolds said. “I’m not trying to say she can’t do the job. I just want to stay within what we’ve been doing.”
To simplify things, Killian said, the city will pay the salary increase and then bill other city agencies, such as the water and gas company, for reimbursement of the funds.
Killian said he thinks other towns will be scrambling to find qualified individuals to fill the state-mandated position.
“What some of these cities are about to find out is they are not going to be able to find anybody to do this,” he said. “It’s going to be open market out there for people that are qualified to do this.”
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.