In May of 2012 the City posted City Manager Boyles’ 2012 base salary on the City’s website as $120,598. However Boyles’ 2012 contract requires minimum payment to him of $148,498. The contract breaks down the $148,498 payment as $120,598 of base salary, $22,500 for tenure adjustment, and $5400 for car allowance. In the Staff report from Kelly Myer (assistant City Manager) to the Council that recommended the $148,498 compensation, it was acknowledged that “Mr. Boyles’ salary is considerably higher” than the average paid to other City Managers for cities of our size. By posting only a part of Boyles’ compensation, the extra $27,900 that he receives and the fact that he is paid “considerably” more than other city managers, remains essentially hidden from the public. The CAG Steering Committee determined unanimously that the City’s action warranted a formal complaint.
CAG did receive a response from the City Attorney claiming that the City was only obligated by law to publicly report on the portion of salary that the city defined as base salary, and that in effect any and all other payments made to the City Manager do not have to be publicly posted. For obvious reasons, we disagree with his interpretation. Common sense would indicate that the State Statute requiring public posting of base salary is for the purpose of letting residents know at least the minimum pay that the City Manager receives, and is not for the purpose of allowing a City to hide a portion of the Manager’s compensation by calling it something else like “tenure adjustment”.
A copy of the formal complaint is available by clicking this link