City Manager Brant Kucera recently filled staff positions — the information technology director and finance director — that the city previously contracted out.

The switch to permanent employees is the primary reason the city’s budgeted personnel costs will increase about 12 percent for fiscal year 2015-16, Kucera said.

However, the actual amount the city has spent on IT services during the last two years has exceeded the budgeted amount by more than 50 percent anyway, he wrote in his budget message.

Russell “Rusty” Barrett, the new IT director, has about 12 years of experience with information systems management and currently works in downtown Portland for Otak, an international multidisciplinary design firm that has an office in Gearhart.

Barrett was hired on April 27 from an applicant pool of 11; five applicants had personal interviews with Kucera. An information systems manager from Pullman, Wash., advised Kucera during the hiring process.

“I felt very confident in the decision we made because I had a very experienced IT professional helping me with those evaluations,” Kucera said.

Asked what Barrett’s duties will be, the city manager replied, “The real question is: What aren’t his duties?’”

He will support City Hall’s 32 Internet users, establish the planned obsolescence of the city’s IT equipment (that is, a rotation of the equipment based on its age and useful life) and lead the city’s transition from Macintosh to Microsoft PC.

This last charge may take a couple of years to complete, Barrett said.

Barrett — who lives with his wife, Jennifer Barrett, an administrative assistant with the city, in Seaside — will work 32 hours per week and his annual salary will be $67,000.

“When I was a kid, I liked to play with video games, computers, things like that, and mess with the insides of computers, and it just kind of went on from there,” Russell Barrett said.

Laurie Sawrey, the present finance director of Warrenton, will become Cannon Beach’s finance director June 8, Kucera said.

Warrenton Mayor Mark Kujala announced Sawrey’s departure last week after Kucera offered Sawrey the position May 7.

One of 22 applicants who applied for the position, and one of three invited for a personal interview, Sawrey will oversee the daily financial operations of the Canon Beach, including its investments and projected revenues.

She will report to the City Council on a monthly basis regarding the city’s financial situation, “making sure we comply with the many, many esoteric Oregon laws when it comes to budgeting,” Kucera said.

In addition, she will be the primary person drafting the annual budget.

Sawrey, who could not be reached for comment, will be paid an annual salary of $85,000.