The city of Henderson’s public information officer will get a new job title and duties, as well as a bump in pay.
The Henderson City Commission approved the change at Tuesday’s meeting that will add several new responsibilities to the plate of Public Information Officer Holli Blanford.
With her new title as public relations director, Blanford will remain the point of contact for news agencies to acquire information, but she’ll also begin to start writing grants for the city.
Mayor Brad Staton said the change occurred after the city had not found any suitable applicants for a grant writer position that was approved as a line item in the current year’s budget. That position was set to pay $45,000 plus about $20,000 to $25,000 in benefits, he said.
With no one moving into the position, city officials asked Blanford if she’d be interested in adding grant writing to her responsibilities, Staton said.
The public information officer position is classified as a pay grade 23. In her current position, Blanford makes $52,885.75 per year, according to the city Human Resources department.
The public relations director is classified as a pay grade 29. Blanford’s pay will go up to $61,013.01 per year, the HR department said.
Staton said having Blanford assume grant writing responsibilities saves the city money in the next budget cycle because her pay goes up $8,000-plus, whereas if the city were ever able to hire a grant writer, that position would have cost the city around $65,000 to $70,000 total.
Staton said Blanford will not write Community Development Block Grants, which will continue to be handled by other city staff. Blanford will work on all other grants, he said.
The reason for the position change now as opposed to the start of the new budget in July is that the city has deadlines looming in the next few months for grants it wants to submit for.