A proposed contract between the City of Villa Hills and its city administrator/clerk was delayed again at this week’s council finance committee meeting.
Last week, the city council was to consider the contract but after pushback from residents in a city that voted out the mayor and five members of the council last month, it was handed to the finance committee for further review.
On Wednesday, that committee opted to take up the issue again after new changes are made by city attorney Mary Ann Stewart.
Craig Bohman was hired at Villa Hills as city clerk in 2013 and took on the additional role of city administrator a year later.
LISTEN:Â RCN’s Michael Monks talks about the Villa Hills contract and Sanctuary Village development on WVXU (starts at 26:00).
As originally written, and as previously reported by The River City News, the proposed agreement between the city and Bohman aims “to make possible full work productivity by assuring Craig T. Bohman’s morale and peace of mind”, according to a document distributed by opposition group Defend Villa Hills, include $80,000 per year salary, future pay increases, health insurance, time off equivalent to an employee of 15 years (Bohman was hired as city clerk in 2013, adding city administrator to his duties in 2014), a city-issued vehicle with city funds paying for gas and maintenance, and a severance agreement of at least 18 months salary.
The finance committee is made up of council members Jennifer Vaden, Mary Koenig, and Gary Waugaman, three of the five incumbents who were defeated last month after a wave of residents opposed to a large forthcoming mixed-use development known as Sanctuary Village pushed new candidates to oppose the council that gave the project the green light.
The three joined Stewart in discussing the various sections of the proposal at a meeting where public comment was not accepted, though it was standing room-only.
One new piece of information revealed at the finance committee meeting was that, according to Stewart, the proposed contract was submitted for consideration by Bohman.
Stewart explained that many cities have contracts with their chief administrator, with a benefit being a prearranged agreement to prevent lengthy legal battles. She said that the city would be able to remove Bohman without cause with a waiver of litigation rights.Â
She added that she would not recommend a long contract which she argued would handcuff the new administration, though a shorter one could offer protections for the city.
She said there are still lawsuits pending against the city from other previous employees.
Having a contract, Stewart told the finance committee, would create for the city a named price that it would be willing to pay for an employee to waive litigation rights.
It was noted that the city has so paid more than $326,000 as a result of lawsuits over the past five years.
As the specifics of the contract were discussed, Waugaman suggested that the car noted in the contract was not one that Bohman would use all the time. It would instead be available for city-related trips to places like Lexington or Frankfort or other places. Bohman would also be able to use the car to go home without returning to the city building to retrieve his own car when returning from travel on behalf of the city.
Vaden said that she was not comfortable with an 18-month severance package, and suggested that six months would be more reasonable.
The paid-time off portion of the contract was originally set at a number that a veteran city employee of fifteen years would receive, while Bohman has only worked in Villa Hills for five, though he also has government employment experience at the Northern Kentucky Area Development District.
Stewart said that the city would have to find out whether the NKADD years in Bohman’s employment history were considered when he was hired at the city, and whether that experience impacted his salary when hired.Â
Bohman currently is paid $84,240 annually.
The revisions to the contract would also include a forfeit of the severance if Bohman resigns voluntarily, and that he should also be made to give a 30-day notice of his intention to leave his job.
Stewart said that she would amend the contract for further review. The finance committee will take up the issue again before making a recommendation on whether full council should vote on it.
