SEVEN HILLS, Ohio — City Council is expected to soon pass a new pay range for the position of part-time deputy finance director.
“This minor finance change is just regular business,” Mayor Anthony D. Biasiotta said. “It hasn’t been updated in six years.
“The marketplace is incredibly tight for experienced finance professionals, so this is just doing our due diligence for a periodic update.”
The part-time deputy finance director position has a pay range of $22.80 to $41.12 an hour.
Deputy Finance Director William VonAlt currently earns $39 an hour.
If passed, the updated pay range jumps to $41.12 to $50 an hour.
“This pay range reflects the current market rate and also is absolutely deserving to keep a key employee, such as our current deputy finance director, William VonAlt,” Biasiotta said
“He has a master’s degree, various certifications and over 40 years of job experience — mostly as a CFO and finance director.
“We’re incredibly lucky to have him.”
With the new salary range, the mayor said he plans on increasing VonAlt’s hourly wage to $48, which also leaves room for future cost-of-living adjustments.
Biasiotta noted that the timing of the salary range update is due to VonAlt’s performance, but also to staying competitive in the marketplace.
The city’s current finance director, Aaron Frank, is also part-time, earning $46,000 annually.
“Our Finance Department is in excellent hands, so we’re always looking down the road to ensure that it stays that way,” Biasiotta said.
The mayor noted that as recently as 2019, the city had a full-time finance director and a full-time deputy.
The former earned $96,000 plus benefits, while the latter made $39 an hour.
“We found a way here with qualified people in a budget-friendly situation where both positions are part-time,” Biasiotta said.
“When you factor this part-time deputy’s pay after this and the current finance director’s pay — and the fact they don’t have benefits — the total package for these two is less than what we (were) paying both people.
“So we’re lucky and fortunate at this time.”
Seven Hills over the last few years has been continually updating pay ranges and salaries for director and supervisor positions, as well as a new mayor’s salary beginning with the position’s next term.
“The next department to get the top-to-bottom look is our Law Department,” Biasiotta said.
“I’ll look over that during the next couple of months and introduce proposals to City Council to bring our Law Department up to current standards and make it competitive with our peers.”
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