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Council debates standardizing severance after city manager contract amendment placed on consent
Summary
Council discussed an amendment to the city manager’s contract that would reduce severance to the statutory maximum and debated whether to pursue a broader policy to standardize severance across city positions; members agreed to keep the contract amendment on the consent agenda and task staff with drafting a severance policy.
Council members debated whether the city should renegotiate an existing employment contract or instead adopt a standardized severance policy for all positions after questions about disparities in severance benefits surfaced during the March 17 work session.
Councilman Cusack said he found it “not right to prepopulate the general consent agenda” and asked that contract changes be negotiated with a council designee rather than approved without discussion. Council members discussed differences among severance packages: the fire chief’s severance (described in the meeting as four weeks by one speaker and later as 16 weeks by another speaker), past negotiated contract terms and whether the city should adopt a uniform, policy-driven approach.
Mayor and other council members emphasized that the city manager, identified in the packet as Mr. Spears, agreed to reduce his severance to the statutory limit (the meeting references a reduction to 20 weeks to conform with state law). Several councilmembers opposed renegotiating a signed contract retroactively and said a better approach would be to develop a standard policy through HR so future hires receive transparent, consistent severance terms.
Councilman Leake and others said they support a policy review and asked the administrative liaison and HR to draft a uniform severance policy. Councilmember McKee and Councilman Powers said the city manager’s contract should remain on the consent agenda for approval at the regular meeting rather than be pulled for further negotiation; they said any broader policy work should take place separately. The council’s consensus was to leave the amendment on consent and proceed with a policy review. Council directed that one member of council meet with the city manager and HR to develop the draft policy.
Ending: The council left the contract amendment on the consent agenda for the regular meeting and requested staff and an assigned council liaison to draft a citywide severance policy for future consideration. No formal renegotiation of the current signed contract was directed.
