Selah severance proposal an eye-opener [Yakima Herald-Republic (WA)]

By ROSS COURTNEY

YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

Just weeks before his longtime boss leaves office, Selah's city supervisor is asking to be paid four years of salary and benefits in a package that would be worth nearly $500,000 should he lose his job under a new mayor.

Frank Sweet, who has worked for the city of Selah since 1991, will ask the City Council today to authorize the mayor to sign an employment agreement that includes a severance package of 48 months of salary and medical benefits if he's fired without cause.

Sweet's current salary is $101,000 per year.

Incoming mayor John Gawlik had a swift reaction.

"That would bankrupt the city," said Gawlik, a councilman who will take the oath of office as mayor Jan. 1. He beat longtime incumbent Bob Jones in the Nov. 8 election, 54 percent to 46 percent.

"It would be astronomically terrible for the city's budget."

Sweet declined to comment until today's meeting. "I don't give preliminary interviews," he said.

Meanwhile, Sweet also will ask the council today to approve a contract that would provide Police Chief Stacy Dwarshuis with six months of severance pay and medical benefits.

Dwarshuis also declined to comment, saying, "I've been a dedicated employee for the city for 30 years. I still like my job and want to continue to do my job."

The City Council meets at 4 p.m. today.

Serve at mayor's pleasure

Neither Sweet nor Dwarshuis have contracts now.

Gawlik warned shortly after November's election that when he takes office he would evaluate whether he needed to make changes. The supervisor and police chief positions are the only two not protected by union contracts, he said.

Gawlik would not elaborate Monday about his intentions but said he does not approve of the way Sweet manages city employees. He also said police officers have told him they have "just a lack of confidence in leadership" of Dwarshuis. They have not filed a formal vote of no confidence, however.

Gawlik, a former city employee under Sweet, plans to vote against the contracts today. He said he would consider granting six months of severance pay because there is precedent for that at the city of Selah and elsewhere.

Gawlik, a former Selah reserve police officer, also has ties to former Selah police Chief Rick Gutierrez, who resigned abruptly in 2008 after 18 years. He received six months of pay and medical insurance. Dwarshuis was subsequently named chief.

The proposed contracts would allow Sweet and Dwarshuis to ask for their severance pay in lump sums.

Some of the other terms might tie his hands as mayor, Gawlik said. For example, the contracts call for third-party mediation during performance reviews and discipline issues.

City Councilman Kevin Jorgensen said he will most likely vote no on the four-year severance package and suspects most of his fellow council members will do the same. In fact, he doubts Sweet expects otherwise.

"I don't think Mr. Sweet has any hope it will be approved," said Jorgensen, who has been on the council for about 31-2 years.

Jorgensen believes Sweet is trying to draw attention to rumors that Gawlik intends to fire him as soon as he takes office.

"I think it reflects a desperate attempt to try to throw up a nuclear option," Jorgensen said.

Jorgensen said he is undecided on the chief's six-month request.

Jones declined to comment on the proposed contracts but defended the work of Sweet and Dwarshuis. He pointed specifically to relatively low crimes rates, high property values, new city streets and an active business climate.

"They have both done an excellent job," said the mayor, who has held office for 16 years.

Most of Sweet's tenure has been under Jones.

In Selah's strong-mayor form of government, the mayor is the chief administrator with the ability to hire and fire department heads, including the city supervisor. The City Council controls the purse strings and approves contracts.

Not a typical severance

The four-year severance Sweet seeks is all but off the charts, according to an international organization that represents city and county administrators.

Severance lengths ranged from 22 weeks to 28 weeks in a 2011 survey of city administrators and managers by the International City/ County Managers Association in Washington, D.C. The common range is somewhere from six months to a year, said Michele Frisby, a spokeswoman for the organization.

Prosser's city administrator, Charlie Bush, has a six-month severance in his contract, as does Don Cooper, the newly hired Yakima city manager.

In Sunnyside, which has had a number of severance payouts in recent years, lengths have ranged from four to nine months.

In June 2007, the council accepted the resignation of City Manager Bob Stockwell and bumped up his severance pay to nine months from the six months his contract called for.

His replacement, Eric Swansen, was fired in 2009 and received an eight-month severance. His contract called for only six months as well, but he received two extra months after the City Council fired him without proper advance notice, according to the state Auditor's Office.

Current City Manager Mark Gervasi has a promised severance of four months in his contract should he be fired without cause.

Ross Courtney can be reached at 509-930-8798 or [email protected].