Clerk countdown

The two men running for city clerk in Nevada City have vastly different visions for the position. One would like to see it eliminated; the other sees it as part of the "checks and balances" every level of government needs.

Whichever man the voters choose, it will be the first time in two decades they will have a choice for the city clerk post other than Cathy Wilcox-Barnes. After nearly 20 years as the city clerk, she resigned in January in the wake of a financial scandal that led to a retooling at City Hall.

Longtime city Councilman Steve Cottrell, 65, and former city treasurer Niel Locke, 71, are vying to finish Wilcox-Barnes' term, which is scheduled to end in July 2010. The office pays $100 a month.

Cottrell is basing much of his campaign on eliminating the position as an elected office and turning the statutory responsibilities over to city staff.

At a recent City Council meeting, he asked his colleagues to support a resolution asking voters whether they wanted to make the city clerk position an appointed one. The council voted 4-0 to draft a resolution to put the matter on the Nov. 3 ballot.

"The bulk of the statutory duties have been sent to staff. So there's very little for the city clerk to do," Cottrell said recently. "There is really no oversight left for the position."

Locke, who was the elected city treasurer from 2002 to 2006, said those duties should be returned to the city clerk, who has other important tasks, as well.

"The staff has only taken this on because there's no city clerk," Locke said. "All you're doing is removing another check and balance from the system."

Differences on finishing term

The city clerk's duties include maintaining City Council meeting minutes, attesting that ordinances are properly adopted, keeping the city seal, and serving as the election's officer who makes certain that nominating papers are filed correctly.

Wilcox-Barnes also served as the full-time office operations supervisor for the city. The city has since hired a financial officer who has assumed most of those duties. The city now contracts out the recording of minutes at council meetings. If elected, Locke said he would record the minutes.

Two grand juries have recommended making the position an appointed one, and 70 percent of the state's municipalities have appointed city clerks, Cottrell said. In the case of Nevada City, all the clerk's duties can be done by city staff without any loss of oversight, he said.

"That's why you have five people on the council," Cottrell said.

Locke said it is time to redefine the position of city clerk in the wake of recent changes at City Hall.

"There's still enough for the city clerk to do, and this will take some of the load off the staff," he said.

Vice Mayor Barbara Coffman is now the interim city clerk.

The city clerk race is on June 3, and in November, voters will decide whether they want the position elected or appointed. If he's elected, Cottrell said, he would resign immediately if the position becomes appointed. Locke said he would finish the term.

To contact Staff Writer Pat Butler, e-mail pbutler@theunion.com or call 477-4239.