Rochester Hills

New city clerk aims for efficiency

By Linda Shepard
C & G Staff Writer

ROCHESTER HILLS — Newly-appointed City Clerk Tina Barton is ready to tackle some of the most important functions of local government.

Barton replaces City Clerk Jane Leslie, who retired after working for Rochester Hills for more than 30 years. Barton, whose first day on the job was March 1, was formerly deputy clerk in Bloomfield Township.

“I’m very excited to be here,” Barton said. “Rochester Hills is very well-respected in the area. There is a lot of positive energy here, and I think we are going to accomplish great things.”

The Rochester Hills City Clerk’s office conducts federal, state and local elections and maintains voter registrations records. The records of the city are under the care of the City Clerk, who also keeps birth and death records and processes passport applications.

“The biggest challenge is getting to know your staff and what the policies and procedures are,” Barton said. “And to make them even more up-to-date and efficient.”

The Rochester City Council approved the selection of a new City Clerk Feb. 11. The open position was advertised with the Michigan Municipal League, the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, the Oakland County Clerks’ Association, the city’s website and cable television channels, and internally.

Twenty-four applications were received, and the top eight candidates were selected and interviewed by Rochester Hills City Council members.

“We did a full day of interviewing with the eight individuals,” Council Member Mark Tisdale said. “[Then] we all sat down and went through our scoring.”

“It was not an easy decision,” Webber said. “I think this is one of the most important things the Council does, to appoint a city clerk. The clerk does some of the most important functions that we have, as a city government — record keeping, elections and day-to-day customer service. I was very impressed by all the candidates.”

“It just came down to the best possible candidate,” City Council President Greg Hooper said.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Linda Shepard at lshepard@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1065.