McLiverty
DERBY — The city will be bringing a temporary finance director aboard and a search committee for a permanent replacement is scheduled to be formed Thursday, officials said last week.
The city is taking the steps because the current interim finance director, Keith McLiverty, who has played a crucial role in Derby’s finances for decades, took a new, full-time job in Virginia in early November.
McLiverty, the city’s former treasurer, was appointed ‘interim’ finance director in November 2019 after losing re-election as treasurer.
He is still serving as interim finance director, albeit in the hours before or after his new job, according to Mayor Rich Dziekan’s administration.
Derby will be bringing in an interim finance person recommended by a consulting company who have such individuals on the bench, according to information relayed at the Jan. 6 Aldermen/Alderwomen meeting by Andrew Baklik, Mayor Rich Dziekan’s chief of staff.
The new interim will be paid at a rate not to exceed $90 per hour. The person will be working full-time. No benefits are being paid by the city, according to the mayor’s office.
In an email Tuesday to The Valley Indy, Balkik said job interviews for an interim person are scheduled for Friday (Jan. 15). A third-party vendor is providing the candidates, and Baklik said the pay will be between $70 and $90 per hour.
The Aldermen and Alderwomen also voted to appoint a search committee to find a permanent replacement for McLiverty. The names of the proposed members of that committee are supposed to be announced at an Aldermen/Alderwomen meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 14).
The search committee will include: at least one member of each political party from the Aldermen/Alderwomen; at least two members of the Derby Board of Apportionment & Taxation, and; at least three “at-large members” who have finance experience in government.
The salary for the position will be set between $95,000 and $120,000. The salary is currently about $71,000. That’s about $20,000 below market rate, according to the Dziekan administration, which prevents candidates from applying.
McLiverty is being paid about $30 an hour for his work as interim finance director, according to the mayor’s office. The plan is to have McLiverty stay on for up to 10 business days to help with a transition to a new interim director.
The moves all had bi-partisan support of the Aldermen and Alderwomen last week. They are Derby’s legislative branch.
