Barrick hired as city clerk in Fort Dodge
By NICK NARIGON
Marengo Financial Manager Barb Barrick will work her last day at city hall Aug. 14.
After serving a decade as the city’s financial manager, Barrick, 49, is leaving to serve as city clerk for the City of Fort Dodge.
Marengo City Council approved Barrick’s resignation Monday, July 27, the same night the Fort Dodge City Council approved her hire.
“It has been 10 years of continuous education and a lot of enjoyment,” Barrick said. “I am ready to move on to the next challenge.”
MARENGO IS HOME
Barrick was born in Marshalltown, and lived in Tama/Toledo until she was 8, spending one year in Marengo. Her parents are Lester and Betty Young, and her father worked for General Telephone.
At the age of 8, Barrick’s family moved to Marengo permanently, and she has pretty much been here ever since.
She graduated from Iowa Valley High School in 1978 and had two children, Ambri Refer, 29, and Seth Refer, 26, with her first husband.
They lived in Victor until Barb moved back to Marengo in 1989. She and Geoff Barrick married in 1992 and have two children, Sarah Barrick, 17, and Erin Barrick, 7.
With encouragement from Geoff, Barb earned a two-year degree in liberal arts from Kirkwood Community College in 1993.
She then took a job as a financial manager with Rural Employment Alternatives (REA), Inc., Conroy, doing similar work that she does now.
In March 1999, Barrick was hired as the financial manager at the City of Marengo.
“This is what interests me. I like doing budgets,” Barrick said. “That is what drew me to it.”
With the City of Marengo, Barrick takes care of payroll, accounts payable and draws up the budget, as well as managing the city clerk duties such as taking minutes at city council meetings and record keeping.
The biggest challenge over the past decade has been trying to keep Marengo’s budget balanced every year, Barrick said. The city’s expenditures increase every year, but the revenue stays the same she said.
“At the same time we try to keep the tax rate from skyrocketing,” Barrick said. “I admire the city council for that, keeping the tax rate manageable. A lot of the credit also goes to the people on staff.”
While working for the city, she continued her education.
She took classes for three years and received an international master municipal clerk certification through the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. She is one of 25 people in Iowa that have achieved this.
Barrick also earned a certification as a State of Iowa certified municipal clerk from the Iowa Municipal Finance Officers Association, and she will be certified as an Iowa finance officer in the fall.
Today, she is just a few classes away from earning a bachelor of science degree from Upper Iowa University, with a double major in public administration and business administration.
Governor Tom Vilsack appointed Barb to a four-year term on the state’s city finance committee and Governor Chet Culver just re-appointed her to another four-year term. Barb also was recently elected to the state’s Iowa Municipal Finance Officer’s Board of Directors.
Barrick filled the role as city administrator on four occasions as the city searched for replacements. She said she applied for the Marengo city administrator position three times and was turned down each time.
“I have never held any bitterness about that,” Barrick said. “That is the council’s decision and they are the ones in charge.”
“We have always had a very good city council here that works together,” she added. “They have always been good about asking for information. I have always seen my role here as providing information so they can make the best decisions.”
Barrick applied for the city clerk position at Fort Dodge earlier this summer. She said her husband of 19 years, Geoff Barrick, who works as a supplier quality engineer at Williamsburg Manufacturing, was told at the time Williamsburg Man was shutting down in two years. They decided to keep their eyes open for other opportunities.
The position in Fort Dodge came along on a listserv Barrick subscribes to, and she said the position was just what she was looking for.
Barrick’s first day in Fort Dodge is Aug. 24. Her duties as the Fort Dodge city clerk will be similar to what she does in Marengo, only on a larger scale.
Barrick said she will still manage the city’s budget, only now she will have a staff of seven working under her.
“I hope it allows me more time to do analyses of things. That’s what I like to do,” she said. “It’s going to be a challenge and I am ready to tackle it head on.”
The first duties she will take on as city clerk is to meet with her staff and identify their strengths, Barrick said. The next step is to begin finding ways to cut costs and improve efficiency in the department, she said.
The City of Fort Dodge is implementing a lean/continuous improvement budget share plan. Under the plan, Barrick is charged with cutting $18,500 in expenses from her department, she said.
“Other departments have come up with unique ways to save money and increase efficiency. Little things can add up to a lot,” she said.
Her starting salary will be $67,514.36. Her salary with the City of Marengo is currently $33,841.60.
Barb will move to Fort Dodge after her last day Aug. 14. Erin will move with Barb to Fort Dodge and starts second grade Aug. 19. Sarah will remain in Marengo and graduate from Iowa Valley next spring. Geoff Barrick will stay in Marengo until he is done with his job at Williamsburg Manufacturing, Barb said.
The people in Fort Dodge remind Barrick of the people she has grown up with and worked with in Marengo. Even though Fort Dodge has just over 26,000 residents, Barrick said it still has a small town atmosphere.
Outside of work, Barrick has been very involved in the community of Marengo. She was co-chair of the Marengo Sesquicentennial Committee and has been on the Third of July planning committee every year. She is a member of the Iowa Valley Music Boosters and has been a Sunday School teacher and superintendent as well as VBS director. Barrick has also volunteered at the Marengo Public Library.
Besides not being with her daughter Sarah for most of her senior year, the hardest part of leaving Marengo will missing her friends, Barrick said.
“If I could just take everyone with me to Fort Dodge I could be content. We will be coming back and forth during the weekends, so I’m not saying goodbye forever,” She said. “The people of Marengo are always going to be near and dear to me and if anyone is ever in Fort Dodge they have to stop in and say ‘hi’.”
Marengo City Council member Bill Kreis was on the council when Barrick was hired in 2000. He said Barrick has been very proactive about dealing with finance issues and is self-motivated to get the job done. During her tenure, Kreis said Barrick has had to work with a “vast array of council members, mayors and city administrators.”
“I wish her well. We can’t hold anyone back when they have a chance to move forward,” Kreis said. “Marengo will find somebody to fill her shoes, but there will be a learning curve.”
Marengo City Administrator Brent Nelson said the personnel committee will meet and determine how to proceed with finding a replacement for Barrick. Nelson thanked Barrick for her service to the city.
“She has helped me out quite a bit. Over the next couple of weeks she will have to spend even more time showing me how things work,” he said.
UPDATED July 29, 2009 10:03 AM