The City Council will hire Patrick Urich as Peoria City Manager next Tuesday night. Urich recently gave 90 days notice of his resignation as Peoria County Administrator. You can read the proposed contract on the City’s website. Here are the highlights:
- Base Salary: $175,000 for the first year
- Starting Date: April 18, 2011
- Incentive Pay: To be negotiated during first three months of employment
- Car Allowance: $500/month
- Vacation Days: 15
- Sick Days: 10
- Personal Days: 5
- Health Benefits: Same as all other City employees
- Term Life Insurance: Paid for by City, not to exceed three times base salary; premiums not to exceed $800/yr.
- Deferred Compensation (457 Plan): Lesser of 9% of base salary or maximum deferred contribution allowed (currently $16,500)
- Retirement System: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF)
- Fringe Benefits: Laptop; cell phone; dues for local civic organization memberships; dues for membership in two national, one regional, and one state professional association; travel and other expenses to attend one national and one state conference per year; reimbursement of job-affiliated expenses.
- Involuntary termination: Lump sum of 9 months salary if terminated within first two years; 8 months if terminated in year three; 7 months if terminated in year four; 6 months salary if terminated in year five or later. All accrued but unused vacation leave up to 200 hours will be reimbursed. All life, health, dental, and disability insurance continues for 12 months (or until he’s hired somewhere else, whichever comes first) if he’s terminated within the first three years.
How does this compare to previous City Manager Scott Moore’s compensation package? Moore’s base salary was set at $165,000 for the first two years; Urich’s is $175,000 for the first year only. Moore’s contract also capped his salary increase at 8%; no cap exists in Urich’s. The city paid for life insurance equal to Moore’s base salary; will pay for life insurance equal to three times Urich’s base salary. The city contributed 8% of Moore’s base salary toward a deferred compensation (457) plan; Urich is getting 9%. Moore got six months’ salary upon involuntary termination; that would have dropped to four months if Moore had been terminated after serving two years; Urich gets nine months salary if he’s terminated within the first two years. Moore’s contract included no provision for incentive pay, but did include moving expenses since he was coming from out of state.
One last interesting tidbit. This will make the third City Manager who doesn’t go by his first name. Randy Oliver was really Charles R. Oliver. Scott Moore was really L. Scott Moore. And Patrick Urich is really F. Patrick Urich. What is it about City Managers that makes them go by their middle names?