By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Marsha Yates will take over as Pelham’s city clerk after the Pelham City Council voted to appoint her to the position during a Jan. 8 meeting.

Yates has been the city’s deputy city clerk for several years, and is set to assume her new role on Jan. 9.

Before Yates’ promotion, Tom Seale served as the Pelham city clerk and finance director. Seale will now serve as the city’s full-time finance director after the city combined the Pelham revenue and finance departments into a single office, said Pelham Mayor Gary Waters.

“This is not in any way a demotion for Tom,” Waters said, thanking Seale for his service as city clerk. “For the last eight weeks, there have been mergers and consolidations of city departments in the name of efficiency.”

As city clerk, Yates will be in charge of recording and storing minutes from Pelham council meetings, helping to collect bid information and many other tasks.