City of Galt seeks new city clerk

GALT — The City of Galt is looking for a new city clerk to serve for the next year.

Galt City Clerk Donna Settles submitted her resignation Sept. 4, and the city council voted 5-0 to appoint a replacement for her Tuesday night.

Interim City Attorney Kimberly Hood said the council could either appoint a new city clerk or hold a special election in the spring.

Hood said that according to the Sacramento County Elections Office, holding a special election for the position would cost the city between $127,000 and $255,000.

“For the term remaining... maybe that would be a very expensive option to pursue for such a limited time,” she said. “And you couldn’t set a special election until April, which would only leave several months for (the general) election.”

Settles began her career in the City Clerk’s office in 1997 as a part-time administrative assistant. Her position became fulltime in 2001.

Upon retirement of the deputy city clerk in 2010, Settles was promoted to the position, and in 2015, she was appointed to city clerk to finish a term ending in 2016.

The Galt city clerk is an elected position, and Settles successfully ran for the seat in 2016, with her term to expire in December of 2020. Prior to her resignation, Settles served as both the elected city clerk and the appointed clerk administrator.

“I am retiring from the city,” Settles said in an email to the News-Sentinel Thursday morning. “This required me to resign as the elected city clerk and retire from the city clerk administrator position.”

Settles’ retirement as city clerk was effective as of Sept. 4, while her retirement as clerk administrator is effective Oct. 31.

In her Sept. 4 email to Galt city staff and the council, Settles said she and city clerk executive assistant Tina Hubert would alternate working city council meetings until her replacement is found. Hubert was serving as city clerk Tuesday night.

“It has been rewarding serving the public in my capacity as the elected city clerk since December 2014,” Settles said in her email to staff and council. “I am excited to move into life’s next chapter but sad to leave some of my favorite co-workers. Thank you city council for the opportunity to serve as clerk administrator.”

Given the city of Galt is facing a financial crisis through the next fiscal year, Mayor Paige Lampson said she was not in favor of holding a special election.

The position’s only requirement is that the city clerk must be a Galt resident, be 18 years of age or older, be a registered voter, and not be convicted of any crimes.

The stipend for the position is $300 a month with benefits. Duties include preparing and distributing council agendas, attending council meetings, recording legislative actions, and advertises and coordinates appointments to city commissions and committees.

The city clerk also serves as the local elections official.

As the city’s clerk administrator, Settles has handled everything else related to the office, including election code knowledge and the Public Records Act, providing city documents and serving as Galt’s Public Information Officer.

Council members said while it would be simple to merely appoint from within and have an interim city clerk ready immediately, they also wanted to be fair to community members who might be interested in serving in the position.

“It’s nice that we have someone internal that has already been helping out along the way,” Councilman Rich Lozano said. “My feeling is that we appoint someone within 60 days, but we should open this up to the public to see who might have an interest in it, and make an appointment based on that.”

Vice Mayor Shaun Farmer said because the position is an elected one, it makes more sense to obtain public input and interest before naming Settles’ successor.

“I don’t doubt Miss Hubert is very competent to do the position,” he said. “We may get no one to apply and we can just have Tina do that. I think that still lets the democratic process have a little more impact on our decision.”

Campion said he had mixed feelings about accepting applications, adding the council should maintain a level of consistency in the position’s appointment.

“Unless someone is extremely qualified and has nothing better to do, our pool of applicants is probably going to be very narrow,” he said. “I’m more in favor of an appointment (from within).”

The City Clerk’s office will accept applications for the position until 5 p.m. on Oct. 3. Applications are available online at www.ci.galt.ca.us, or can be requested via email at

Applicants can also visit the City Clerk’s Office at 380 Civic Drive.

All applications received by the deadline will be reviewed by city council during its Oct. 15 meeting.