IDAHO FALLS -- At month’s end, City Clerk, Ruth Newsom, will step away from the post she has had for nearly 10 years. Before joining the City of Pocatello, Ruth worked in the private sector and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. She was hired at the City in November 2002 as Deputy Clerk where she took minutes of City Council meetings and provided administrative support to the City Clerk, Chief Financial Officer, and Mayor. In January 2011, she moved up to the City Clerk spot where she has been responsible for maintaining the records of the City, managing City elections, issuing City licenses, and more.
“One of the things that I’m most proud of was moving the City from a paper-based system to a digitized system,” Ruth said. “This includes providing citizens with the Council’s agenda packet on the City website. In doing so, residents are able to view the same information that members of the Council are seeing.”
Ruth also took the lead in converting the City to its current records management system. The process took over six months to complete.
“Now, each department in the City has a representative who’s trained to use the system, and they can access the records quickly and efficiently for citizens,” Newsom said.
In a 2011 article in the Idaho State Journal, Mayor Brian Blad stated that Ruth is “one of the friendliest, most courteous, and professional people he’s ever worked with,” a description he still stands by today.
“Ruth has continued to be all that and more,” said Mayor Blad. “She has always kept her positive attitude and constantly has a smile on her face while helping citizens. She will be missed.”
In retirement, Ruth plans on volunteering in the community and spending time with her grandchildren. She’s also looking forward to traveling and getting a National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands Senior Pass to visit as many National Parks as possible.
“I will miss the employees at the City,” said Ruth. “They are a group of hard workers that truly love and care about our City. Another thing I’ll miss is signing new development plans and watching them take shape from beginning to end. There are so many good things happening in Pocatello.”
Ruth’s last day on the job will be October 30.