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City Commission raises pay for acting manager Mac Craig
By DAVE SHELTON
| Article published on Thursday, April 12, 2007 |
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LARGO – Acting City Manager Norton “Mac” Craig took the interim job without asking for a raise, but he has been given a 15 percent pay increase by the City Commission.
As Craig looked on in silence, commissioners debated how much to pay him for assuming additional responsibilities and whether to call it a “raise” or a “bonus.”
The commission appointed Craig as the interim manager March 27 after firing the former city manager, Steve Stanton, who had announced he was undergoing a sex change.
Craig was earning $108,513 at the time Stanton was fired and has been an assistant city manager since 2004. Stanton was earning $140,000. Craig, a retired military officer, had been the city’s Director of Environmental Services since 2001.
Mayor Pat Gerard said that giving him a pay increase to reflect his added duties was her idea. After raising the issue, Gerard said, she learned that Craig’s salary hadn’t been adjusted as several other city employees were after an independent survey of city salaries was completed last year.
Human Resources Director Susan Sinz said Stanton had advised her that Craig’s salary wouldn’t be increased to fall into an “industry standard” for similar positions. She didn’t know why Stanton made that decision.
Sinz said she then learned that Craig’s annual performance review was to have been completed by Feb. 20.
The commission voted unanimously to give Craig a 4 percent pay raise assuming he would have received a satisfactory performance review. And, they added $3,765 to his salary to bring it to 97 percent of what the payroll survey had indicated others with similar responsibilities in similar cities would be paid.
This brought Craig’s annual salary to $116,771.
Gerard had proposed the acting manager be given a 15 percent salary increase while acting as city manager.
Vice Mayor Harriet Crozier asked why Craig should be given more than the 5 percent increase given to other employees who step into their supervisor’s offices temporarily.
Commissioner Andy Guyette said he could rationalize, and support, a 15 percent increase. He said as an assistant manager, Craig managed three departments. He said since Craig is now overseeing all nine city departments he should get three times the 5 percent given to the others.
Commissioner Gay Gentry said the commission was “over complicating” the issue and should just give Craig the temporary increase in his salary if the elected officials felt he was doing a good job.
The commission then voted 6-1 to approve the 15 percent with Commissioner Mary Gray Black opposing the action. She argued that the city should negotiate a new contract with Craig.
As a result of the commission’s actions, Craig’s salary was increased to $134,846 while he works as acting manager.
Gerard said she would meet with Craig to discuss whether he needed an allowance for expenses and report back to the commission.
In other action, the commission approved plans to go ahead with improvements to Eighth Avenue, a county road, from Seminole Boulevard to Central Park Drive.
City resident Geoff Moakley, a frequent critic of city spending, challenged the commission for making improvements to a county road. Instead, he said, the city should be asking the county to make the improvements which include new, wider sidewalks, new curbs and shoulders, repaving and landscaping.
Craig said the $537,000 project is intended to “provide a safe and aesthetically pleasing entranceway to the Largo library and Central Park.”
Guyette asked why city staff had chosen this project for immediate action rather than other streets in the city which appeared more in need of repair.
Mike Staffopoulos, director of community development, said this was the second phase of a project begun last year. He said last year the city made similar improvements on Central Park Drive.
Black noted that the construction bids were higher than the $450,000 budgeted for the project. Staffopoulos responded that the city was able to save money from two other projects, which were paid for through county gas taxes, to pay for the Eighth Avenue renovation.
The project was approved with only Black voting against it. Craig said work was expected to begin May 25.
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Article published on Thursday, April 12, 2007
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