Monterey County Herald (California)
BYLINE: By LARRY PARSONS Herald Staff Writer
4/23/2012
The Marina City Council has decided how much it will pay its interim city manager during the next several months.
Doug Yount, the city’s development services director, agreed to take the administrative reins after the council voted 3-2 in March to fire 10-year city manager Tony Altfeld.
Yount, who was making about $180,000 a year, will get a $2,000 per month raise until July 1 as he holds down both jobs. That is still considerably less than Altfeld, whose annual salary was $220,000 when the council fired him.
Starting July 1, Yount will work solely as the interim city manager and his extra compensation will shrink to $600 a month. The post of development services director will remain on the city roster but won’t be funded in the coming fiscal year.
Councilwoman Nancy Amadeo said Wednesday the council likely would fill a vacant economic development manager position to take over some of the duties Yount had in overseeing Marina’s major development projects.
Yount’s compensation, which is expected to be formally ratified May 1, includes use of a city car and travel benefits.
Still, the city is expected to save about $285,000 by December from the combination of reduced pay for the city manager and leaving Yount’s current position empty after July 1.
“There will be a big savings every month,” Mayor Bruce Delgado said.
But the mayor and Amadeo acknowledged the projected savings don’t take into account a severance payout to Altfeld, which is still an unresolved issue.
Altfeld’s attorney Mark O’Connor said he has filed a claim against the city for 12 months of salary and benefits for Altfeld and for other money damages.
Before his firing, the city wanted Altfeld to agree to a new contract limiting severance pay to four months.
Delgado said by reducing the manager’s pay “we have a chance to save for a long period of time.”
If Altfeld gains a full year’s severance pay, the immediate savings projected this year “would be wiped out,” Amadeo said.
Amadeo, who opposed firing Altfeld, estimated the city has spent about $40,000 on attorney fees in Altfeld’s dismissal.
With elections for the City Council in November, it is unlikely the council will begin a search this year for a permanent replacement for Altfeld in the manager’s post, she said.
Yount has experience as a city manager and “doesn’t need to be brought up to speed” on Marina, she said.
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper
Copyright 2012 The Monterey County Herald
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