In a meeting that became contentious at times, Milford City Council approved a salary offer of $195,000 to “Candidate #2” who will replace Mark Whitfield who is retiring at the end of the month. Whitfield has agreed to stay on a contracted basis until the new manager is fully on board.
“On May 1, Council voted to make an offer of $180,000 to Candidate #2. In formulating the offer, council used the midpoint of the advertised range,” Whitfield said. “The candidate has come back with a request for council to consider $195,000 per year to start.”
Whitfield provided information on other cities who partner with DEMEC and are often compared to Milford in size and makeup. Middletown’s city manager earns $204,120, Newark $184,156 and Smyrna $194,480. According to Whitfield, the average of the three is $194,172. Candidate #2 has over 30 years’ experience. Whitfield also pointed out that he would have received a pay increase this year, but due to his retirement, none was pursued. That increase would have brought his salary into the range of what the candidate was requesting.
After the motion to approve the salary was made and seconded, council entered into discussion. Councilman Jason James pointed out that as a member of DEMEC, Milford had a requirement to pay the city manager at a certain level.
“I did some research myself,” Councilwoman Madula Kalesis said. “Middletown’s town manager makes $204,000, but Middletown has a population of 24,000, double ours. Smyrna has a population about the same as ours, around 11,000, but they did recently increase property taxes that caused a big stir because they had to cover a $2 million deficit. Smyrna’s town manager also acts as the police chief for that salary.”
Kalesis continued that Newark has a population of over 30,000, triple that of Milford.
“I don’t believe you start someone at $195,000 even with 30 years’ experience, they don’t have experience in Milford, no utilities, no public works experience, so to start at $195,000 when they are still learning is just not acceptable. If my fellow council members would like to explain why it is acceptable to pay someone this starting salary, by all means do so for the people sitting out here.”
James pointed out that the Smyrna town manager is acting police chief as they are in the process of hiring a new chief, so those jobs would soon be split again.
“This is more money than I have ever made in a year, but that does not mean I haven’t sat here and offered equivalent salaries to others,” Councilwoman Katrina Wilson said. “We need a knowledgeable, qualified and reputable person to run our city. As long as I have been here, we have done grade studies to bring us up to the correct salary levels. When we think about the build out of houses, we’re going to have those numbers. We’re going to be at 15,000 in no time at all. So, let’s be proactive to make sure that we have a qualified person that is able to manage our city. Another benefit this person brings is experience in accounting, so I’m really excited about that.”
Wilson continued, stating she had no problem voting for this salary level.
“What made me feel comfortable is we brought our current city manager from public works and had to trust his knowledge and his lack of experience in some areas and likely overqualification in others, but he has shown he is more than qualified for this job and if he stayed with us, we would have given him a three percent increase,” Wilson said. “I am comfortable with this amount and happy they do not have to take a pay cut along with other added responsibilities.”
James felt the need to respond to comments about tax increases.
“I want to make this clear for the public that if council does approve this, there would be no need for a tax increase,” James said. “It would not be more than the salary we are already paying our city manager and it is already in our budget.”
Wilson also pointed out that the current budget was over $60 million, and that council needed to hire the best leader they could get. She also felt that with the supportive heads of departments and the citizens of Milford, the new manager would have no problem learning Milford.
“I understand we want the best person in that seat to run Milford day in and ay out. But I am also well aware that the average salary for a Milford citizen is $50,000 a year,” Councilman Michael Stewart said. “When I started a new job, I didn’t come in at top dollar even though I had plenty of experience. I had to prove myself at the new company, so I just don’t think this is realistic.”
Kalesis felt that the extra $15,000 could be used for other purposes in the city. She pointed out that the growth would need additional police officers, asking if that $15,000 would cover the salary of one additional police officer. James emphatically told her no. Mayor Todd Culotta stated it could offset another expense, however. Kalesis also felt that it was better to have someone with more knowledge in public works if they were going to pay the higher end of the salary.
“Mine’s more of a food for thought statement,” Councilwoman Lori Connor said. “If I had two contractors bid to work on my house and I was confident in both of them, but one wanted $180,000 and the other wanted $195,000, I would go with the lower cost.”
Councilwoman Nadia Zychal felt that 30 years of experience should mean something and that offering the higher salary was actually acting in the public good.
“When council took the time to interview these people twice, in the process that I will carefully say had some political considerations, it is my feeling it is not in the best interest of the people of this city to quibble over $15,000 and try to strategically lowball in order to maneuver to hire a candidate that is not nearly as qualified on paper or by any other metric than the candidate that was chosen by this body,” Zychal said. “I would like the people in this room to strongly consider their ethics when they make this decision.”
Connor took offense to Zychal’s comment, stating that she did make a motion to offer $170,000 as she had not heard the $180,000 amount previously. At the May 1 meeting, before voting on the $170,000, Whitfield recommended that council not offer less than $180,000 to $185,000. That motion did not pass, and council agreed to offer $180,000 with the full understanding there would likely be a counter offer.
“I want to make this clear for the public, the range that was advertised was $160,000 to $197,000 and to allow HR to negotiate the contract,” James said. “So, the motion in front of us is to make an offer not to exceed $195,000.”
Connor continued to take issue with the comments that her initial $170,000 was a “low-ball” offer and Zychal replied she felt it was disingenuous. Culotta called for a vote with Councilman Dan Marabello, Zychal, James and Wilson all voting yes. Connor, Kalesis and Stewart voted no.
“I am the new kid on the block and I wasn’t here when you did all the interviews for the candidate,” Councilman Danny Perez, who was sworn in last week, said. “I don’t think it is appropriate for me to vote affirmative or negative, so I will abstain.”
After the vote, Culotta stated that the vote was a tie. City Solicitor David Rutt corrected him, stating that the vote was 4 to 3 with one abstaining. That meant the motion passed. Culotta questioned another vote many years ago where someone abstained and the measure passed, but Rutt stated that was an actual tie vote and this was not, so the motion passed.
Once the candidate has accepted the offer, the City of Milford will issue details on the candidate.
