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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-02-28 22-112 ORDER 4`� of eq pcD CITY COUNCIL ACTION 02/28/2022 Council Meeting Date: 02/28/2022 am itc s Item No: 22-112 Responsible Dept: City Manager TED,V Requested Action: Order Map/Lot: N/A Title, Order Appointing Deborah A. Laurie as City Manager and Authorizing the Execution of an Employment Agreement Summary This Order will appoint Deborah Laurie to the position of City Manager and will authorize the execution of an employment agreement. This appointment is the culmination of a comprehensive recruitment and selection process. The city Council and staff panels interviewed a number of candidates, both recommend that Deboarh Laurie be appointed City Manager. Ms. Laurie, a Bangor resident, is a Certified Public Account, who holds a B.S. in Accounting with a minor in Information Services from Husson University. Ms. Laurie has served the City in various Finance Department capacities since-1992. Ms. Laurie has been serving as Interim City Manager since August 2021. Committee Action Committee: Council Workshop Meeting Date: 02/16/2022 Action: Recommend for passage For: Against: Staff Comments&Approvals r City Manager City o icitor Finance Director Introduced for: New Business CITY OF BANGOR ORDER 02/28/2022 ne Date: 02/28/2022 Item No: 22-112 �A 1ry °ggtED,F�'� Assigned to Councilor: Tremble Appointing Deborah A. Laurie as City Manager and Authorizing the Execution of an Employment Agreement Be it Ordered by the City Council of the City of Bangor that,Deborah Laurie of Bangor, Maine is hereby appointed to the position of City Manager of the City of Bangor effective February 28, 2022; and Be it Further Ordered, that Richard Fournier, Chair of the Bangor City Council, is hereby authorized and directed, on behalf of the City of Bangor, to execute an employment agreement between the City of Bangor and Deborah Laurie; and Be it Further Ordered, that said employment agreement shall be in a form acceptable to the City Solicitor. 22-112 FEBRUARY 28, 2022 EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT DRAFT THIS Agreement, made and entered into this day of 2022, by and between the CITY OF BANGOR (Penobscot County), State of Maine, a municipal corporation, hereinafter sometimes referred to as 'Employer", and Deborah Laurie, of Bangor, State of Maine, hereinafter sometimes referred to as " Employee." WITNESSETH: WHEREAS, the City of Bangor desires to employ the services of said Deborah Laurie as City Manager of the City of Bangor; and WHEREAS, the parties have reached agreement as to the benefits, conditions of employment, and working conditions of said Employee; NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, the parties agree as follows: Section 1. Duties Employer hereby agrees to employ said Deborah Laurie to perform the functions and duties of City Manager of the City of Bangor as specified under the Charter and the Ordinances of the City of Bangor and the laws of the State of Maine, and to perform such other duties and functions as the City Council shall from time to time assign. Subject to the provisions contained herein, Employee shall serve at the direction andpleasure of the City Council of the City of Bangor. Section 2. Term A. This Agreement shall continue unless terminated in accordance with Section 2 or Section 3 of this Agreement. B. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with the right of the Employee to resign at any time from her position with Employer, upon ninety (90) days' notice to Employer. In the event Employee resigns her Employment she shall not be entitled to severance described in Section 3 of this Agreement. C. Termination by City Prior to February 28, 2022.Until February 28, 2025 nothing shall prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with the right of the City Council to immediately terminate the services of Employee as City Manager at any time, subject only to the provisions set forth in Section 2 and 3 of this Agreement. However, in recognition of the Employee's depth and breadth of experience gained during her more than 29 years of service to the City, Employee will be allowed to remain an Employee of the City under the Direction of the City Manager or designee until February 28, 2025 at the rate of pay on her last day of service as City Manager. After February 28, 2025, Employee's new position will end unless the parties mutually agree otherwise.. If Employee is terminated as City Manager and remains employed pursuant to this {EP - 04130962 - v1 } 22-112 FEBRUARY 28, 2022 provision, she will not be entitled to any severance described in Section 3 of this Agreement and all other provisions of this Agreement will be null and void. Employee shall remain subject to the City's Personnel Rules and Regulations and will be afforded all categories of fringe benefits in the same amounts and coverage as are provided from time to time by Employer to other Employees. This provision shall not be effective if Employee is terminated during the initial term for cause in accordance with Section 3 of this Agreement. Section 3. Termination and Severance Pay A. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent, limit, or otherwise interfere with the right of the City Council to immediately terminate the services of the Employee at any time. Employee shall vacate her position with Employer immediately upon notice of termination, provided that the Employee and Employer may negotiate an alternate date that Employee vacates her position with Employer. B. Termination for Cause: In the event Employee is terminated for cause related to her employment with Employer, because of her conviction of any illegal act involving personal gain to her, of in the event of her death, then Employer shall have no obligation to pay the Employee any further amounts, including but not limited to those described in part C of this Section 3, except to the extent that such benefits are required by law or the Personnel Rules and Regulations of the City of Bangor. Cause is defined as follows: 1. Commission of a crime of moral turpitude; 2. Commission of a felony; 3. Engaging in any material act of dishonesty; 4. Engaging in any material act which brings discredit to the City; or 5. The Employee is unbondable at a reasonable cost. 6. Gross negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of the duties of and services required of Employee pursuant to this Contract. C. Termination Without Cause: In the event Employee is terminated by the City without cause, Employer agrees to pay Employee a lump sum cash payment equal to twelve (12) months base salary and the annual value of the Employer's contribution to the cost of the Employee's health insurance and life insurance. In order to receive the severance payments described herein, Employee agrees she will sign a Separation and Release Agreement in a form acceptable to the Employer. Section 4. Salary A. Employer agrees to pay Employee for her services rendered pursuant tothe Executive pay schedule (Executive Pay Grade 1, Step 11) of the City of Bangor with an initial annual base salary of one hundred forty-four and two hundred and twenty-seven and fifty cents ($144,227.50), payable in installments at the same time as other employees of the Employer are paid. {EP - 04130962 - v1 } 22-112 FEBRUARY 28, 2022 B. Employer agrees to handle future salary increases beyond that outlined in A above in the same fashion as salary increases are handled for other Executive Level Employees at the sole discretion of the Employer. Section 5. Performance Evaluation A. On an annual basis, the City Council and Employee shall define such goals and performance objectives which they deem necessary for the proper operation of the City and in the attainment of the Council's policy objectives and shall further establish a relative priority among those various goals and objectives, said goals and objectives to be reduced to writing. They shall generally be attainable within the time limitations as specified and the annual operation and capital budgets and appropriations provided. B. The City Council shall review and evaluate the performance of the Employee annually on or about October. More frequent reviews may be held at the discretion of the City Council. Said review and evaluation shall be in accordance with the goals and performance objectives jointly developed by the City Council and Employee and the normal standards used to evaluate the performance of other City employees which are applicable to Employee's position. C. hi effecting the provisions of this Section, the City Council and Employee mutually agree to abide by the provisions of applicable law. D. Employee agrees and understands that the term of her employment as City Manager shall be subject to the City's Personnel Rules and Regulations as they currently exist and as they may be modified from time to time except where provisions of this Agreement modify or supersede the Personnel Rules and Regulations. Section 6. Outside Activities Employee shall not participate in any non -Employer connected business or employment without the prior approval of the City Council. Section 7. Residency Employee currently resides within the corporate limits of the City of Bangor and agrees to maintain residence within the City of Bangor for the term of her employment as City Manager. Section 8. Friw4e Benefits A. Employer agrees to provide Employee with all categories of fringe benefits in the same amounts and coverages as are provided from time to time by employer to other employees of the City of Bangor at the Executive level unless otherwise stated in this agreement. B. Employer agrees to allow the Employee to retain the current level of vacation accrued. C. Employer agrees to pay or reimburse for professional development, education, and {EP - 04130962 - v1 } 22-112 FEBRUARY 28, 2022 training expenses that are related in scope of position, to the extent that such costs are budgeted and approved by the Employer's governing body. This shall include maintenance of CPA Licensing requirements. D. Employer agrees to budget and to pay for the professional dues and subscriptions of Employee necessary for professional development. E. Employer agrees to budget for and pay the travel and subsistence expenses of Employee for professional and official travel, meetings and occasions adequate to continue professional development of Employee and to adequately pursue necessary official and other functions for Employer, such as national, regional, state, and local governmental groups and committees and for short courses, institutes and seminars that are necessary for professional development and for the good of the Employer. F. In addition to the basic salary, Employer shall pay Employee five hundred ($500) dollars per month to cover miscellaneous out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Employee on City related business and as a car allowance in lieu of a motor vehicle furnished by the City. Employee shall be responsible for paying for liability, property damage and comprehensive insurance, with a limit of not less than $300,000/$500,000 with an insurance company licensed to do business in the State of Maine, and for the purchase, operation, maintenance, and repair of her vehicle. Employee need not submit receipts for the purpose of documenting such expenses. G. Employer agrees to pay the required premium on a term life insurance policy equal in an amount to one -times the annual base salary. H. Employer agrees to pay into the retirement and/or deferred compensation plan equal to 15% of Employee's base pay. In the event, MPERS required Employer contribution for the 2C plan exceeds 15% of Employer share of retirement contribution shall increase accordingly and contributions will be required to Employee compensation plan. Section 9. Indemnification Employer shall defend, save harmless and indemnify Employee against any tort, professional liability claim or demand or other legal action, whether groundless or otherwise, arising out of any alleged act or omission occurring in the performance of Employee's duties as City Manager. Employer will compromise and settle any such claim or suit and pay the amount of any settlement or judgment rendered thereon. Section 10. Bonding Employer shall bear the full cost of any fidelity or other bonds required of the Employee under any law or ordinance. Section 11. Other Terms and Conditions of Employment The City Council, in consultation with the Employee, shall fix any such other terms and conditions of employment, as may be determined from time to time, relating to the performance of the Employee, provided such terms and conditions are not inconsistent with or {EP - 04130962 - v1 } 22-112 FEBRUARY 28, 2022 in conflict with the provisions of this Agreement, the Charter or any other law. Except as otherwise provided in this agreement Employee shall be subject to the Personnel Rules and Regulations of the City of Bangor. Section 12. Notices Notices pursuant to this Agreement shall be given by deposit in the custody of the United States Postal Service, postage prepaid, addressed as follows: Employer: City of Bangor 73 Harlow Street Bangor, Maine 04401 Attn: City Council Employee: Deborah Laurie 28 Woodbury Street Bangor, ME 04401 Alternately, notices required pursuant to this Agreement may be personally served in the same manner as is prescribed for personal service of process under the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure. Notice shall be deemed given as of the date of personal service or as of the date of deposit of such written notice in the course of transmission in the United States Postal Service. Section 13. General Provisions A. The text herein shall constitute the entire Agreement between the parties. B. The Employee acknowledges that the services to be rendered by her are unique and personal. Accordingly, the Employee may not assign any of her rights or obligations under this agreement, except that: (a) her rights to compensation and benefits hereunder may be transferred by will or operation of law; and (b) her rights under employee benefits plans or programs may be assigned or transferred in accordance with such plans or programs or regular practices. C. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs at law and executors of Employee. D. This Agreement shall become effective commencing or when Employee assumes the position as City Manager, whichever shall occur first. E. If any provision, or any portion thereof, contained in this Agreement is held unconstitutional, invalid, or unenforceable, the remainder of this Agreement, or portion thereof, shall be deemed severable, shall not be affected and shall remain in full force and effect. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The City of Bangor has caused this Agreement to be signed and executed in its behalf by its City Council, and duly attested by its City Clerk, and the Employee {EP - 04130962 - v1 } 22-112 FEBRUARY 28, 2022 has signed and executed this Agreement, both in duplicate, the day and year first above written. CITY OF BANGOR Richard Fournier Council Chair Deborah Laurie ATTEST: City Clerk (Seal) APPROVED AS TO FORM: City Solicitor {EP - 04130962 - v1 } IN CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 28, 2022 CO 22-112 Motion made and seconded for Passage Vote: 8 – 0 Councilors Voting Yes: Davitt, Hawes, Okafor, Schaefer, Sprague, Tremble, Yacoubagha, Fournier Councilors Voting No: None Passed CITY CLERK