Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the City Council's vote.

Citing their leadership during the pandemic, Palo Alto has stripped the "interim" tag from Gayathri Kanth and Darren Numoto and appointed them directors of the city's Library and Information Technology departments, respectively.

The City Council unanimously affirmed the appointments of Kanth and Numoto on Monday night.

The decision by City Manager Ed Shikada to appoint two current leaders to the top positions in their departments followed a recruitment period that occurred before the pandemic. The city held off on making the appointments because of a hiring freeze related to the city's budget challenges. Both Kanth and Numoto have been serving as department heads on an interim basis for well over a year, with Kanth taking on the role in October 2019 and Numoto filling his in December 2018.

In announcing the appointments, Shikada cited their "outstanding leadership throughout the pandemic" and noted that they had shown "great ability to adapt to ever-changing circumstances while supporting the workforce and community."

"Both have a proven track record in leading teams and are dedicated to finding creative ways to maintain and expand customer service with leaner resources," Shikada said in an announcement.

Kanth and Numoto have ample City Hall experience, with Kanth serving as an assistant director in the Library Department for 3 1/2 years before becoming interim director. She had previously served as a community librarian in Cupertino and Saratoga and has more than 20 years of experience in library administration and services, according to the city. Numoto spent more than 25 years at various Silicon Valley companies before he joined the city in 2014 as IT operations manager.

Both department heads have been forced to make radical adjustments over the course of the pandemic, with the city shutting down and then gradually reopening its libraries and moving most of its services, including all public meetings, online. Kanth and Numoto will have salaries of $214,000 and $210,000, respectively.

Kanth said in a statement that she's "really proud of the work we've done to continue providing accurate information and library resources throughout the pandemic, including virtual and Sidewalk Services, earning grants to provide online programs, and helping run the City's Community Support Call Center."

"My short-term goal as Director is to continue the phased reopening of all the five libraries," she said. "My long-term goal is to work with the leadership team to continue providing seamless services while navigating the pandemic, from Library-on-Demand vending machines to automated materials handling machines."

Numoto said in a statement that he is "excited to partner with departments to solve problems and provide innovative services to our community and businesses.

"I will continue to promote forward-thinking and continually improve the IT infrastructure, enabling us to support new initiatives and defend against cyber-attacks," Numoto said.