APRIL WALTON
St. Charles
Summary
Strategic and results-driven local government executive with 25+ years of progressive leadership experience spanning city management, human resources, municipal operations, and fiscal oversight. Proven ability to lead complex organizations, drive employee engagement, negotiate high-value contracts, and optimize operational performance. Expertise in HRIS systems (Paylocity, PayCor), fund recovery, and municipal court administration. Trusted advisor to elected officials with a track record of improving service delivery, strengthening workforce culture, and enhancing financial sustainability.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
City Manager / Senior Municipal Executive
City of Berkeley, MO
Berkeley
01.2025 - 01.2026
- Directed full-service municipal operations serving a population of approximately 8700 overseeing an annual budget exceeding $21,000,00.
- Managed 15 direct reports and additional 115 staff.
- Partner with Mayor/City Council on policy development, reporting and regulatory compliance.
- Promoted transparent communication and collaborative communication between staff and leadership.
- Led cross-functional departments including HR, finance, code enforcement, public works, police, fire and municipal court, improving operational efficiency.
- Developed and executed strategic plans aligned with city council priorities, enhancing service delivery and community satisfaction.
- Negotiated complex vendor and labor contracts, achieving cost savings of $1 million + annually.
- Implemented performance management frameworks that increased employee productivity and accountability across all departments.
- Championed employee engagement initiatives, reducing turnover and increasing satisfaction scores to include strengthening employee manager engagement.
- Oversaw fiscal planning, budget development, and long-term financial forecasting to ensure sustainability and compliance.
Human Resources Director
City of Berkeley, MO
03.2022 - 01.2026
- Directed all HR operations for a workforce of 131 employees, including recruitment, employee relations, compliance, and benefits administration.
- Implemented and managed HRIS systems (Paylocity and PayCor), improving payroll accuracy, reducing payroll processing time and costs.
- Actively monitoring workers compensation ensuring validity.
- Mediating and managing disciplinary action processes.
- Designed leadership development and coaching programs, strengthening internal talent pipelines and succession planning.
- Streamlined performance management system, PTO, training and employee appreciation programs.
- Supported city management with organizational restructuring and staffing strategies.
- Led performance management redesign, aligning employee goals with organizational strategy and improving evaluation consistency.
- Negotiated union agreements and employment contracts, balancing fiscal responsibility with workforce needs.
Municipal Operations & Court Administration Manager
City of Berkeley, MO
05.2012 - 05.2024
- Managed municipal court operations, ensuring compliance with state regulations and improving case processing efficiency.
- Case load management over 300,000 cases.
- Managed million dollar revenues ensuring appropriate allocation for state and county funds.
- Create annual court schedules.
- Oversight of document compliance.
- Adhering to document purge for court cases (bulk case purging).
- Reduced backlog by more than 40% by creating a show cause docket to assist with adjudication for final court dispositions.
- Directed fund recovery initiatives, increasing revenue collection rates through process improvements and accountability measures.
- Oversaw code enforcement operations, enhancing community compliance and reducing violations backlog.
- Coordinated cross-departmental initiatives to improve service delivery and court operational alignment.
Education
Bachelor’s Degree - Criminal Justice
Lindenwood University
St Charles, MOMaster’s Degree - Human Resource Management
Lindenwood University
St Charles, MOSkills
- City and municipal management
- Human resources leadership
- Contract negotiation and labor relations
- Employee engagement strategies
- Performance management systems
- Coaching and leadership development
- Fiscal budget planning
- Risk management
- Revenue optimization
- Municipal court operations management
- HRIS systems expertise
- Organizational development
- Municipal court system proficiency
- Accounting system knowledge
- IWorQ system proficiency
- Microsoft Office suite
- Payroll support
- Payroll management
- Payroll deductions
- Garnishment processing
- Payroll training
- New hire processing
- Payroll processing
Affiliations
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Accomplishments
- Recovered over $500,000.00 in municipal funds through strategic fund recovery and financial management initiatives.
- Financially stabilized the city by strengthening finance operations and adhering to fiscal policy. This was especially important because over 10 million dollars had been spent without appropriate approval the prior year by previous city administrator.
- Set the expectations for all department managers to include training for grant funding. Instrumental in securing a $50,000.00 grant for the police department operations.
- Renegotiated code enforcement contract securing 60/40 revenue split from previous 82/18. This negotiation included provisions for office space rental and equipment use.
- Implemented first online open enrollment for city employees; which resulted in employee’s readily accessibility to their health benefits and better understanding of their coverage.
- Implemented first sexual harassment online training for employees; allowed for a set deadline for completion by staff while allowing them to complete the training at their own pace.
- Served on COVID-19 St Louis County Committee to help navigate 81 municipal courts back to in person court sessions.
- Facilitated process to disposition backlog cases in municipal court resulting in shorter court dockets and current case volume decrease.
- Reduced organizational turnover through targeted employee engagement and leadership development programs.
- Successfully implemented enterprise HRIS systems (Paylocity, PayCor), modernizing HR operations and reporting capabilities.
- Led multi-department transformation initiatives improving service delivery metrics and community satisfaction ratings.
Timeline
City Manager / Senior Municipal Executive
City of Berkeley, MO
01.2025 - 01.2026
Human Resources Director
City of Berkeley, MO
03.2022 - 01.2026
Municipal Operations & Court Administration Manager
City of Berkeley, MO
05.2012 - 05.2024
Bachelor’s Degree - Criminal Justice
Lindenwood University
Master’s Degree - Human Resource Management
Lindenwood University