The City of Waterloo hired a new city recorder, David Reed, after conducting interviews between two applicants on March 23.
Reed worked for the Benton and Linn County Sheriff’s offices for 25 years, retiring in 2020. He recently began considering taking up some part-time employment when the Waterloo position opened up.
With his experience in law enforcement, Reed described himself as people-oriented, detail-oriented and a problem solver. During his career, he often worked in east Linn County, noting that “I just like Waterloo. Waterloo is a nice place.”
He has already begun training under the outgoing city recorder, Grace Reed, who is also his daughter.
The council approved a motion to allow up to 100 total staff hours per month between the outgoing and incoming recorders during David’s training through July 2026, to be reevaluated at that time.
During the council’s regular meeting on April 14:
- Grace Reed reported the city incurred a $200 fine for filing taxes late. She learned a volunteer was filing the city’s payroll and W2s free of charge. As such, Reed signed the city up for Gusto, an automatic payroll service, for approximately $111 per month.
- Grace Reed reported the city continues to have trouble accessing files, accounts and emails on the computer because a former city recorder has not unlocked the password to the Microsoft account, and they have been unsuccessful in contacting the former recorder. She continues to look into options on how to gain access, but it could end up costing the city as much as $250 an hour for a professional to gain access. The council approved a motion allowing Reed to hire a professional.
- The council talked about the need to find budget committee members, and they set a date to deliver notices on upcoming budget meetings.
- Grace Reed recommended the council consider paying the IRS standard mileage rate to staff who drive around in the course of business.
- The city received a complaint about trash on a property at 4th and Davis streets.
- Enforcement Officer Dennis Scott reported the city sent out a number of ordinance violations in the city. The property owners are at risk of being fined on a regular basis until the issue is resolved.