Port Townsend’s new City Manager starts work Nov. 1 at a salary above what his predecessor made until the last six months of his tenure.

John Mauro, currently the sustainability officer for the city of Auckland, New Zealand, had signed off on Port Townsend’s job offer on July 4.

But, city officials working to hammer out details of the pay and benefits package voted July 22 to make the deal official.

The City Council had unanimously selected Mauro as its preferred candidate on June 19, and authorized the recruiter to prepare a conditional offer and begin negotiations on an employment agreement.

DISSENT ON THE COUNCIL

City Council member Bob Gray, a stickler for procedural and financial details, cast the lone dissenting vote, even though Mauro is Gray’s choice for the city manager position.

Where Gray split from his fellow council members, all of whom voted in favor of authorizing the employment agreement, was over Gray’s contention that the council should have been more involved in the negotiation. The rest of the council interpreted their agreement with the city’s recruiter as authorizing him to negotiate within the range the council had already approved.

Mayor Deborah Stinson acknowledged that Mauro declined the city’s initial offer of a $150,000 starting base salary, but noted the council had approved a range of $125,000 to $163,000, with an additional range of $10,000 to $20,000 for his relocation allowance.

Owen Rowe, the one member of the public who addressed the council during the July 22 meeting, opined that Mauro’s starting base salary is appropriate for the skills he brings to the table, even though, as he acknowledged, it’s “three times as much as the entire council put together.”

Stinson explained the salary was drawn from research of city manager salaries at cities comparable to Port Townsend across the state of Washington, and noted that Timmons himself expected his successor’s salary would jump up in comparison to his own. Timmons’ last multi-year contract had topped out at $135,000.

“He’d been in the position so long, he was anticipating some sticker shock, like when you buy a new car for the first time in a long time, and you realize how much more modern cars cost,” Stinson said. “We didn’t want to lowball this position.”

Council member David Faber pointed out that Mauro’s salary wouldn’t even make him “the highest-paid employee in Jefferson County,” estimating that “at least six or seven” other people would rank higher on such a list.

Faber did acknowledge that the city had initially offered Mauro 80 hours of banked sick leave, as opposed to 120, “but given the awful state of health care in this country, I have no qualms with increasing that number.”

Mauro signed the conditional offer on July 4, and the employment agreement on July 15, prior to the City Council reviewing the final terms of the agreement on July 22.

Under Mauro’s contract with the city, his term as city manager begins Nov. 1, with a starting base salary of $156,000, and a standard benefit plan offered to non-bargaining unit employees.

Mauro is set to receive employer-paid premiums for a $50,000 life insurance policy, 15 hours a month of vacation leave accrual and 120 hours of vacation available when he starts work. He’ll accrue eight hours a month of sick leave and starts the job with 120 hours of sick leave available.

Mauro is contractually slated an automobile allowance of $5,400 per year, under which he would be responsible for all vehicle costs, unless he travels outside a 100-mile radius of the Port Townsend city limits.

Mauro can enroll in the standard Washington Public Employees’ Retirement System package within 30 days of employment, and would be due six months’ severance payment, and related leave accrued during that six-month period, as well as post-employment health, life and long-term disability benefits for 12 months.

Under this contract, Mauro would be reimbursed for “professional and official” travel, and will receive a moving and housing relocation allowance of $20,000, although the repayment for the latter is prorated over a 24-month period, if either Mauro or the city terminates their agreement.

Mauro can voluntarily resign with 30 days notice, but as long as he stays on, he’ll receive performance evaluations at six and 12 months following his hire, with an annual evaluation to be performed by the City Council by Oct. 31 of each year.

David Timmons, by contrast, wrapped up his 20-year career as city manager for Port Townsend with a base salary of $135,370, reimbursement for business expenses that included $1,440 a year for electronics, and the same insurance coverage as his fellow city employees.

Timmons received a $400-a-month car allowance, as compared to Mauro’s $450 per month, and Timmons also received 45 days of vacation per year, including sick leave and holidays, as compared to Mauro’s 22.5 days of vacation per year.

Timmons’ retirement is 17.5% of his base salary, split into 457 deferred comp accounts, and his severance payment was 12 months’ salary, including all vacation, holiday, car allowance, health and life insurance.