The Inter-Mountain photo by Haley Gordon Sutton Stokes, far right, listens as Operations Manger Bob Pingley and City Treasurer Tracy Judy speak during a meeting of Elkins City Council’s Finance Committee last week.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Haley Gordon
Sutton Stokes, far right, listens as Operations Manger Bob Pingley and City Treasurer Tracy Judy speak during a meeting of Elkins City Council’s Finance Committee last week.

ELKINS — The City of Elkins has recently welcomed Sutton Stokes to the newly created position of external affairs specialist.

“It’s newly created and it’s obviously going to be a work in progress, figuring out all of the best day-to-day and long-term goals,” Stokes told The Inter-Mountain. “It’s like a spokesperson, the person who gets information out to the public.”

Stokes served as Elkins city clerk beginning in 2012, and resigned in February 2016.

The creation of the position itself was approved by Elkins City Council on Dec. 19, but a vote was not required to approve the hiring of an individual for the job.

Stokes was hired at grade 9, step 21 of the grade and step payment plan adopted by the city at an hourly rate of $17.99 an hour, and he is also eligible for benefits from the city.

Other goals for this new position include increasing employee and departmental content in the city newsletter, scheduling more press releases or council presentations about the goings-on in the city, creating a public newsletter, and managing media.

“Governments in this country are by the consent of the governed and a part of that contract between the government and the people that live under it is that the government owes people explanations of what it’s doing, it owes people a steady flow of information,” Stokes said.

“It’s helpful, on one hand, but also just briefs them on what their representatives are doing and that makes the populous better able to make their own judgments when it comes to elections.”

“One key part of this will be the sending out of information, be that interfacing with the media, running the city’s websites, social media and newsletters and other means of publishing the information to the public,” he continued.

“Another thing we’d like to get done in the short term is to make sure we have a good information packet available for new residents, or anyone who wants one,” said Stokes. “It would explain how the street sweeper works, when trash gets put out and the kinds of things that make people feel as though they’re part of the community a little faster.”

Officials said the city considers the hiring of Stokes to be a “checked box” as a goal achieved from the Council’s 2018-2023 Strategic Plan.

Stokes’ office will be located on the third floor of City Hall in room 317. He can be contacted at sstokes@cityofelkinswv.com.