{"id":8717638,"date":"2023-01-16T15:15:43","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T23:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8717638&preview=true&preview_id=8717638"},"modified":"2023-01-17T15:34:04","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T23:34:04","slug":"council-to-consider-hiring-interns-instead-of-secretaries-to-help-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/16\/council-to-consider-hiring-interns-instead-of-secretaries-to-help-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Antioch to consider hiring interns instead of secretaries to help them"},"content":{"rendered":"

A proposal to add part-time administrative support for Antioch\u2019s mayor and council members was postponed, with council members asking instead for the city to consider hiring interns.<\/p>\n

Mayor Lamar Thorpe had first proposed the new expenditure at a council meeting in mid-December, but the item was delayed to allow the staff time to draft three separate proposals for three part-time positions: one to assist the mayor, and two to aid two council members each.<\/p>\n

At $18.53 to $25 an hour, the new positions would cost the city $45,000 to $65,000 annually, with money coming from the general fund.<\/p>\n

Currently, the city manager\u2019s secretary provides such help to the council and mayor. The new employees would help to prepare and file documents, keep records and perform receptionist duties, according to the staff report.<\/p>\n

Residents had mixed reactions to the idea of the new positions at Friday’s special council meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that if a council member works a full-time job somewhere else and has either underage children or a senior\u00a0or somebody that they’re responsible for, then they should have the opportunity for an assistant to help with some of the city business,\u201d Leslie May said.<\/p>\n

Melissa Case said she was concerned because other city positions are unfilled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are we filling assistants when our other positions that we really need on city staff aren\u2019t filled?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bur Edgar Martinez suggested the city consider creating internships instead of permanent positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a local college here, Los Medanos, and I think that we need to give opportunities to students who are focused on \u2026 political science or whatever,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, to help them get\u00a0 their foot in the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor ProTem Tamisha Torres-Walker agreed, though at first she had wanted a part-time secretary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was my idea,\u201d she said. \u201cI was like, hey, this government has not caught up to the growth of this city. And there needs to be something done, and council people often need support to return those phone calls and those emails and attend those very important county, statewide and federal meetings, to be able to draw down resources to be able to govern effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, she has since changed her mind, Torres-Walker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe right direction will be internships,\u201d she said. “It will be internships, not just because people might be upset that we create more positions \u2013 because more positions will be created, especially for a city that’s growing and in need of high-functioning government \u2013 but because they should be positions that young people and young adults who live in this city have an opportunity to become public policy interns or fellows to learn to work in local government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Antioch has never offered separate administrative support for the mayor or council members, a check of other similar-sized cities shows it’s not unusual. In Richmond, the mayor has a handful of assistants, while council members share one liaison but sometimes seek interns or part-time help.<\/p>\n

In nearby Concord, the city council members and mayor receive support from the city manager\u2019s administrative assistant but may temporarily hire more assistants to help, while in smaller-sized Brentwood, the council members and mayor get help from the city manager’s assistant.<\/p>\n

Even so, Thorpe, who has worked with interns in the past, said he preferred a permanent position.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get them trained \u2026 but the frustrating thing is they (later) leave,\u201d he said of the college interns.<\/p>\n

City Attorney Thomas Smith pointed out, however, that there are legal differences between the secretary and intern positions, and the council agreed to revisit the matter once those nuances are laid out.<\/p>\n

The council also briefly discussed a possible 16% council pay raise — 5% for each of four years — would take effect in 2025, but the item did not move forward.<\/p>\n

The last time council members approved a raise was in 2019 \u2013 the first one in 13 years \u2013 which took effect in 2021, raising the salaries to $1,604 monthly. Each year the council must consider the matter according to city rules, the mayor said.<\/p>\n

Thorpe was in favor of an increase, but Torres-Walker and Councilwoman Monica Wilson indicated they were not. Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock had previously voted against a raise\u00a0and Councilman Mike Barbanica was absent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some council members wanted to use interns to help tham instead of hiring for permanent positions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":625,"featured_media":8717639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"subheadline":"Proposal will return to Antioch City Council later","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[10111],"tags":[551,553,11231],"feature":[],"location":[36,3,2,31,4,33],"type-of-work":[50053],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"161","primary_tag":551,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_edition_date":"","print_pub_date":"","print_slug":"","print_content":"","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"","print_notes":"","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":""},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"","print_workflow_exported_username":"","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":52021,"print_status":9425,"add_export_buttons":""},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"premium","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":8717639,"title":"EBT-L-LTHORPE-12XX-2","filename":"EBT-L-LTHORPE-12XX-2-2.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/EBT-L-LTHORPE-12XX-2-2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/16\/council-to-consider-hiring-interns-instead-of-secretaries-to-help-them\/ebt-l-lthorpe-12xx-2-3\/","alt":"","author":"878","description":"","caption":"Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe speaks during a council meeting at City Hall in Antioch, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. 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