PUNTA GORDA — If meetings of the City Council and its advisory committees seem to run like well-oiled machines — with agendas and prior meeting minutes always posted in advance, the record of past codes and resolutions in hand for discussions, and the statutory requirements for board members duly met — that’s in large part due to the skills of City Clerk Sue Foster.

And she’ll be “a hard act to follow” when she retires in May after 19 years as a city employee, said Mayor Bill Albers on Wednesday.