Interim's contract has sweeteners

The Lewiston City Council will vote next week on giving the interim city manager an extra $3,500 a month for holding down two jobs.

A contract on Monday night's council agenda calls for Daniel J. Marsh, the city's administrative services director and interim city manager, to be paid $3,500 a month in addition to his present salary of $99,042. On an annual basis, the additional pay would total $42,000.

The new agreement is retroactive to March 8.

The former city manager, who has been on administrative leave since March 8, was paid $114,000 a year. But a survey last year of other cities in the region, including Moscow, Coeur d'Alene and others, indicated most are paid in the $135,000 to $145,000 range, Marsh said Tuesday.

He also will receive an additional 240 hours of vacation that can only be used when he retires or leaves city employment. His $200-a-month car allowance, which is paid to all department heads, will continue as will memberships in professional organizations the city has customarily paid for city managers.

Marsh is guaranteed the ability to return to his old job as administrative services director with credit for time spent as city manager if he or the city council terminates the contract. He will not be moved into the city's new pay plan until after he is no longer interim city manager. That would have happened on his March 10 anniversary with the city and he would have received a $1,394 increase.

Nonunion employees, including management, didn't get cost of living increases of 2 percent that were given to most union employees last year. The police union took a smaller increase in return for other concessions.

Marsh said the monthly stipend and the deferred vacation are intended to compensate him for doing two jobs until the city hires a new manager. If someone was hired from outside for the interim, it would cost the city about $10,000 a month more, including benefits, based on City Manager John C. (Jay) Krauss's salary, Marsh said.

The council hasn't publicly discussed how it will go about advertising for a successor to Krauss, who worked for the city for four years before a "separation agreement" was approved by the council March 8.

Krauss still hasn't signed that agreement, Marsh said, but he has been told by the city attorney that it could happen soon.

In the meantime, Krauss continues to receive his salary and benefits. The separation agreement also guarantees his salary and family medical insurance through Dec. 30 plus cashing out of some accrued leave that would bring the total payout to about a full year's pay.

Marsh said all the additional costs of making the management changes will come out of the city's general fund. He has already told the council that budgeting this year will be extremely tight because the tax base isn't growing and revenues that usually come from the state are expected to be down again.

Marsh, 50, has been administrative services director since 1997. He previously was chief financial officer with F.M. Blake and Associates at Lewiston and before that was chief financial officer for the Appaloosa Horse Club at Moscow and a certified public accountant with Presnell Gage.

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Lee may be contacted at slee@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.