Fulton Rotary hears city updates from director of administration

Anakin Bush/Fulton Sun
Renee Tyler, Fulton's director of administration, speaks to Rotarians about city updates and her first year in the city. She began as the director of administration on April 18, 2022.
Anakin Bush/Fulton Sun Renee Tyler, Fulton's director of administration, speaks to Rotarians about city updates and her first year in the city. She began as the director of administration on April 18, 2022.

At Wednesday's Fulton Rotary Club meeting, Rotarians heard from Fulton's director of administration Renee Tyler about her first year in the city.

She began as the director of administration on April 18, 2022. Very soon after starting, Tyler began tackling issues affecting Fulton.

One of the first things she did was the development and streamlining of employee evaluations.

"I wanted to enhance efficiency, communication and caring. What was going on, and what were barriers that my staff was facing in continuing to deliver their tasks associated with their jobs," Tyler said.

Another topic Tyler worked on was internal equity and inclusion.

"Everybody has a voice. Everybody must be heard," Tyler said.

Succession planning is another topic she has been working on, in an effort to get younger people to work with the city.

A compensation study and salary review was completed in November, and those findings are now being implemented. The employee benefits were also restructured.

"I will stand on this. We have one of the best benefits packages in central Missouri, whether it is public or private," Tyler said.

Several positions have also hired in Tyler's time, including Michael Shine as Fulton's new public information officer and Kathy Ratliff as city clerk.

Tyler told Rotarians about some recent and city projects, including the launch of electric vehicle charging stations in the Brick District. She said the leaking pool was also fixed.

She said the Second Street bridge project is continuing, and is currently expected to be completed by the end of June.

A traffic light study will begin mid-2023, Tyler said. The goal of this study is to install traffic lights for those who are visually or hearing impaired.

"This study is going to help us...we have a grant, and we plan to implement better lighting that makes it more equitable and accessible for those who have disabilities," Tyler said.