Publication Date: Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Top city officials can't get fired in January
Top city officials can't get fired in January
(December 07, 2005) Benest, Baum, Erickson and Rogers get clause added to contracts
by Bill D'Agostino
Although the performance of Palo Alto City Manager Frank Benest was a campaign issue during the recent City Council election, he won't be fired in January.
Or February. Or March. Or a small sliver of April.
On Monday night, the City Council approved a change in Benest's contract, and in the contracts of three other top city administrators, that will prevent the four managers from being fired until at least 90 days after new council members take office.
In September, Benest, City Attorney Gary Baum, City Clerk Donna Rogers and City Auditor Sharon Erickson asked the council for the modification in their contracts.
Those four are the only city employees council members directly oversee.
"We believe this change, a common provision in other cities, would allow (the four employees') performance to fully and fairly evaluated by the new Council," the four officials wrote in a letter to the council on Sept. 29.
The council approved the request on Monday 8-1, with Councilwoman Hilary Freeman voting no. (Freeman did not explain her vote.)
The new provision will prevent the four top officials from being fired without cause for 90 days after any new council members take office. Currently, the council can fire the four top employees at any time without a reason.
During the recent council race, some candidates argued the council had granted Benest too much power in making policy.
"That may have been a factor" for the request, Councilwoman Yoriko Kishimoto said prior to the meeting. She had been one of those criticizing the council for failing to exert enough oversight of Benest.
However, Kishimoto added: "I don't think the tone or the kind of comments made were leading to any immediate firing of Frank. I don't think he would have been in danger of that."
Most council members said the change would provide a cooling-off period following an election.
"I think it's reasonable," Mayor Jim Burch said.
Bob Moss, a resident active in city politics, spoke against the new contract provision. He said he worried about the tense environment created if council members win an election after running on a platform of firing a top city employee and then aren't able to fire that employee immediately.
"This is lousy public policy," Moss said.
Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com.
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