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Finance committee declines action on consulting agreement for departing staffer; final draft to full board
Summary
The Diversion Authority Finance Committee reviewed a proposed consulting agreement for Jody Smith, who is leaving for a state position, but declined to act and asked that a final draft be provided to the full Diversion Authority for decision at its next meeting.
The Diversion Authority Finance Committee on Jan. 22 reviewed a proposed consulting agreement to retain Jody Smith for land-acquisition negotiations after her Feb. 1 departure to a state position, but took no formal action and asked staff to circulate a final draft to the full Diversion Authority.
The proposal, described by counsel John Shockley, would pay Smith a lump sum of $12,000 per month for six months (February through July) to support ongoing negotiations related to land acquisitions for the Cass County Joint Water Resource District and the MCCJPA; thereafter she would be eligible for approximately $130 per hour if subpoenaed to testify in the future. Shockley said the monthly figure reflects an estimated 40–50% full-time equivalent over the period and that the hourly rate factors in pay and estimated insurance and related costs.
Committee members said they had only just received the draft and that the document remained under legal review. Commissioner Rick Steen and several other members urged more time to review the agreement; one member explicitly moved to delay action. Mayor Sherry Dardis and others said they were sensitive to timing because Smith’s departure and active land negotiations could affect momentum.
Because the committee did not have a final, attorney-reviewed document in hand, it took no vote on the consulting agreement and directed staff to circulate the most recent draft to finance committee members and the full diversion board so the diversion board could act at its next meeting. Shockley said he would email the updated draft to the committee and to the diversion board and provide a courtesy copy to the press.
The committee’s discussion included questions about the expected weekly hours during the six-month stipend period; Shockley said the estimate was roughly 15–20 hours per week on average, rising some weeks and falling others. He also said the firm drafting the contract had not completed its review of public-records language (GRAMA) and that non substantive edits might follow.
No formal motion to approve the consulting agreement was made or recorded by the finance committee on Jan. 22; the item was held for later action by the full Diversion Authority.
Looking ahead, the committee asked staff to circulate the updated agreement promptly so the full diversion board could consider it at its meeting the next day.
