Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell is retiring June 19 after logging 40 years of service with the city.

She has taken on so many duties during her tenure that it might take two people to replace her.

Mitchell’s was one of two retirements discussed at a special-call city council work session Monday at the Municipal Complex, representing 71 years of cumulative service walking out the door in the next several months. Fire Chief Duane Hughes is retiring April 16 after almost 31 years with Columbus Fire and Rescue.

“I hate to see them go, but I also want them to go and enjoy their life before they get 90 years old and can’t,” Mayor Stephen Jones said with a laugh after the meeting. “I feel confident that we’ll replace them with good people, and the city will still move forward. … It’s like I always say, ‘People leave. People die. But life goes on.’ And the city of Columbus will continue to go on as well.”

Mitchell started working for the city inspection department in 1985 and moved up the ranks through several other positions before becoming HR director in February 2005. A few years later, she took on deputy city clerk as an additional role.

Though council members took no vote on the matter at the work session, they discussed splitting human resources and deputy city clerk into two positions and advertising them separately.

They seemed content with advertising the positions both internally and externally to get the best possible pool of applicants, something Mitchell recommended.

“I don’t believe anybody internally is fully qualified, but that is your decision,” Mitchell told the council.

Navigating pay could also be tricky.

Jones said he expects to hire a human resources director for less than what Mitchell makes now “because she’s been here 40 years. Plus, she was doing multiple jobs.” That still doesn’t account for the salary for a dedicated deputy city clerk.

Mitchell, whose annual salary is roughly $82,000, indicated that might not be possible.

“I do want to remind you that the going salary for human resources exceeds what I’ve made performing all my duties,” she said.

The average salary for an HR director job in the U.S. is $109,870, according to the online job board Indeed. That takes into account private and public job listings with the service, where the city of Columbus also posts its jobs.

Ward 6 Councilman Jason Spears, who chairs the city’s finance committee, said he is open to bolstering the HR director salary to make it more competitive, as long as there are areas in other departments the city can cut to make it work in this year’s budget.

However, he supports advertising it first as a single position and splitting it only if qualified applicants don’t come forward.

“When you split it into another position, that position then becomes engrained in the budget from that point forward, then of course you have all the benefits and increases that go along with it,” Spears told The Dispatch. “… Obviously, Ms. Pat is one of the longest tenured employees in the city, and she’s been more than capable of handling those responsibilities. Is there someone else out there who can match up with what she’s doing and have a training period with her to show how to streamline those processes?”

Jones told The Dispatch he “definitely supports” advertising the roles as two positions.

Hughes joined Columbus Fire and Rescue in October 1995, moved up to assistant chief by 2018 and has served as chief since 2022.

Efforts to hire an assistant chief for Hughes have not been fruitful. Now, the council plans to advertise for a new fire chief, then resume the search for an assistant chief.

Spears lamented losing such long-tenured servants, even pointing back to last year when Kenny Wiegel retired after nearly 30 years as the city’s building official. But Spears also pointed to Wiegel’s replacement, Nathan Katona, as a prime example of how to effectively pass the torch.

“It definitely hurts when you lose long-term employees, especially with them being very reliable and good employees all the time they’ve been here,” Spears said. “… We can’t completely fill their shoes, but I think you look at Mr. Katona who came in for Mr. Kenny. He’s hit the ground running, and he’s doing a fantastic job. If we continue to vet candidates and be thorough in our analysis … we can at least find someone who is going to come in with the same gusto, effort and commitment to their job.”

Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.