Diers, O’Donnell receive city raises

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

The end of June annual performance reviews were returned by Charles City leaders before the start of the new fiscal year that started on July 1.

City Administrator Steve Diers and City Clerk Trudy O’Donnell each received raises after Charles City Council members and Mayor Dean Andrews rated their on-the-job performance.

Diers received a 3.56 percent increase to raise his yearly salary by just over $4,000 to $116,471. Diers was awarded a 4.65 percent bump in pay last year.

O’Donnell received a 2.75 percent raise and now makes $68,138 annually. Her raise for the 2020 fiscal year amounted to over $1,800.

Diers has spearheaded many big projects that are on the horizon in Charles City.

Charles City is planning on building a new Charley Western Bridge, constructing a new $16 million wastewater treatment plant and have yet to vote on a proposed $11.5 million fiber-to-the-home Internet broadband project.

“We’re on the doorstep of that,” said Diers, about the broadband project.

Other major undertakings in the city that are still in the works are repairing the Main Street Bridge and ironing out the details of the AMR (American Medical Response) ambulance contract with the city/county.

Diers has helped work toward possible sale of the Avenue of the Saints Development Park certified site, the purchase of the North Grand Building by developer Shawn Foutch and getting the Charles City Watershed Management Plan up and running.

“There’s just a ton of things going on,” said Diers.

Diers took over as Charles City Administrator in March of 2014. He was previously city manager at Independence.

O’Donnell was hired as city clerk in Charles City in July 2007. She was the city clerk in Riceville for nine years before coming to Charles City.