California City Clerk Aimee Hill tendered her resignation last week and will move on to a new position.
Hill has served as California's city clerk since April of 2018, after previously serving as the city's utilities billing clerk. As of press time Tuesday, an interim city clerk had not yet been publicly announced.
The city will begin the hiring process in short order, California Mayor Rich Green said Tuesday morning. The California Board of Aldermen had met for a special session the previous evening to discuss its next steps following news of Hill's imminent departure. Green said as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, the city was preparing to advertise for the opening as soon as possible and had offered the interim role to an employee but had yet to receive a formal acceptance.
Next steps aside, Green said the city is losing a valuable employee.
"She's been exemplary, she's been a great employee," Green said. "I've leaned on her since I got into office. She's really, really helped me. I hate it that she's leaving, but she's doing the right thing for her and her family. I'll never complain about anybody leaving if it's better for their family."
With the city increasingly finding itself in scenarios requiring it to file more state and federal paperwork, Green said the job has expanded both in scope and the amount of time it consumes.
"It's a good move on her part," Green said. "She's got young kids and I will say, the city clerk job is more than a 40 hour per week job. There's just a lot to it, partly because of (things like) Sunshine Laws and everything else. It just requires a lot of paperwork and compliance with this, that and the other."
With the impending hiring process on the horizon, Green pointed to staying competitive with the city's salary offerings - a challenge the Board of Aldermen has discussed at recent meetings - as one factor the city plans to keep in mind.
Green made sure to note again that Hill had been an incredibly loyal, hard-working employee - one deserving of thanks from the community for her effort and dedication to the city.
"I can't say enough about Aimee," Green said. "Aimee Hill has been great. I've - well, everybody has - leaned heavily on Aimee since she got here. She's been a really, really good city clerk, and the entire council (doesn't) want her to go. But we understand. Everybody has got to do what's best for their family, that's the bottom line."