La Veta begins interview process

by Carol Dunn
LA VETA- On August 1, the La Veta Town Board began interviewing applicants for the Town Clerk and Deputy Town Clerk positions. They will be interviewing at least one more person before they make hiring decisions. Unfortunately, the Board has not named a salary range for the positions and has not yet decided whether the Deputy Clerk position will be part-time or full time. Trustee Laurie Erwin brought this up at Monday’s special meeting, saying these decisions need to be made before any job offers are made.
The two women interviewed Monday were Sarah Dearman and Crystal Copley.
Dearman graduated from La Veta High School then moved away, moving back about a year ago. She has been working at the La Veta Library. Dearman told the Board that she is very proficient with Quickbooks, the accounting software the Town recently decided to install on its office computers. “I could probably cover the job descriptions for both positions and save you from having to hire another person,” she told the Board. Dearman said she could start part-time immediately and full-time after August 22. She said, “I’m like a lot of people in this town; I’m willing to work, and I’ll work hard for you. I’ll dedicate what it takes to make the Town better. I do care about this Town.”
Copley, who has been working at Town Hall as a volunteer for a few days, told the Board that she and her husband ran a business with 5,700 customers. Although she has been out of the job market for 11 years, she said, “It’s time, the economy’s changed. I’m trying to raise money for our [4-year] house remodel.” Copley engaged the Trustees and Mayor with a discussion about changes that she envisions for the office. Having observed the payroll process as well as the water billings, she said, “There are a lot of things, important things, that I would change.” She estimated that the amount of data entry required by both positions can be cut in half. Copley passed around a brief Systems Operation Policy that she had drafted for the office and explained it to the Board. “I can’t be inefficient,” she said. “I don’t know how. … How can we make things more efficient?”
The Trustees commented that both applicants are qualified and have good attitudes; they were upbeat and customer oriented – all traits that the Board agreed were necessary for either position.