It is a sign of the economic times. The Fayetteville City Council Oct. 1 took the advice of city staff and approved the removal of several unfilled job positions from the personnel roster.

The positions had already been removed from the city’s job list due to the state of the economy and past budget cuts. The permanent removal of those jobs will save the city $224,121 in starting salaries.

The cancelled positions included the planning and zoning director, a civil engineer, facilities maintenance coordinator, planning technician, mechanic and deputy city clerk.

The starting salaries for the deleted positions ranged from $28,682 for the deputy city clerk to $59,628 for the planning and zoning director.

The council also agreed to add one position, special projects coordinator. The proposed position will start at $38,437 and include a top salary of $63,602.

Also at the meeting, the council heard the first reading of a move to extend the partial exemption of the impact fee and sewer proportionate fee ordinance.

The proposal to extend the partial exemption on impact and sewer proportionate fees ordinance would continue the 50 percent reduction for the redevelopment and reuse of existing retail spaces such as restaurants and medical offices. The extension applies only to non-residential spaces where a higher use would require additional fees.

The partial exemption was approved for a last year to encourage the use of existing vacant commercial properties and to help boost the local economy during the recession and has proven somewhat successful in encouraging the use of existing commercial spaces, according to city staff.

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