Worried About Termination, Biddle Nets Ballot Initiative Severance Pay
Emeryville city attorney Mike Biddle changed his employment contract with the city to blunt the effects of a possible termination of his employment by voters in the scheduled November ballot initiative. Mr Biddle however lost his bid to receive the 18 months ballot initiative severance pay he requested, garnering instead nine months by city council fiat last Tuesday.
The council voted 4-1 to grant nine months severance pay with council member Ken Bukowski dissenting, claiming Mr Biddle should receive no special severance in the event the people vote him (Biddle) out of office. Mr Bukowski is the progenitor of the autumn ballot initiative that would remove the city attorney position as a regular employee of the city adding instead subcontractor attorneys for the city's legal work.
18 months of aggregate salary for Mr Biddle would total at least $431,000 based on the city attorney's 2010 salary according to the Public Employees Salary Database. Council member Jennifer West offered instead 9 months of salary totaling about $216,000, a savings of approximately $216,000 for the city.
The negotiation of Mr Biddle's employment contract was regularly scheduled by the city council and the looming ballot initiative against the city attorney's employment is unconnected to it.
remarkable... a "savings" of 216K? nonsense... it is an expenditure of 216k-of our tax money!
ReplyDeleteso, if emeryville voters vote biddle out- as opposed to say the radical idea of the council exercising its right to terminate him for any of several performance related reasons- west wants us to give him a generous goodbye gift..
how very thoughtful.....
and the council even approves a new contract for him....
there really continues to be many reasons to vote many of the sitting council members out of office...