Amarillo City Council | Photo by Noah Dawson
Update:
We now have the full details of the new contract and how it compares with Miller’s original contract. Read our comparison here.
Original Story:
During a Special Meeting of Amarillo City Council held today, the council voted 4 to 1 to amend City Manager Jared Miller's employment contract to increase the requirements for Miller to be removed without cause from 3 votes to 4 votes of the council.
The contract was also modified to increase Miller’s salary from $294,000 to $313,000 per year. Miller will also be given 25 vacation days, an increase from 16 days. According to Mayor Nelson, 25 days of vacation is consistent with the number of vacation days given to an employee who has been with the city for 20 years. Modifications to Miller’s auto allowance, cell phone allowance, and the number of sick days were also made, but specifics were not given.
The most controversial aspect of the change is a new provision requiring the votes of 4 of the 5 members of the council to remove Jared Miller without cause. (Miller may still be removed for cause with only 3 votes of the council.)
At the start of the meeting, Mayor Ginger Nelson defended the timing of the amendment, stating that the contract had not been updated in the 6 years since Miller was first hired. According to Nelson, negotiations between the City and Miller stemmed from a performance evaluation of Miller which occurred during an executive session during last week's regular meeting of the council. She stressed that she felt it was important to make the amendment now so that the city could move past the negotiations.
Over a dozen members of the public spoke during the public comment section of the meeting, with all speakers expressing concern about the move. Among the speakers were several candidates running in the May 6th election, who voiced concern that the current council may be tying the hands of an incoming council. Tom Scherlen, a candidate for City Council Place 3, expressed skepticism towards the timing, calling the move "total government overreach." No incumbents are running for reelection, though both City Councilman Place 1 Cole Stanley and City Councilwoman Place 2 Freda Powell are running for mayor. This will mean that at least 4 of the 5 seats on the council will be filled by new members following the election.
Following the public address portion of the meeting, the council entered into a closed-door executive session to discuss the item. The executive session began at about 1:45 pm, with the council reconvening in an open session to vote on the item at 4:00 pm.
Nelson defended the amendments, stating that she disagrees “with the idea that this is an overreach.” She went on to state that, since she feels the current council has more information about Miller’s performance than an incoming council, the timing to change the contract is now. “They haven’t worked with Mr. Miller, they will have a very steep learning curve.”
City Councilman Place 1 Cole Stanley was the sole vote against the amended contract. Stanley stated that he does not "feel that this is right," echoing comments made by members of the public who feared the incumbent council is tying the hands of the incoming council. He further asked Miller to decline the amended contract. Miller did not decline the amendment. Miller appeared to criticize the fact that the city charter allows the entire council to be voted out in a single election.
All other members of the council voted in favor of the amendment. The motion to approve the contract was made by Councilwoman Place 2 Freda Powell and seconded by Councilman Place 4 Howard Smith. The meeting adjourned at 4:20 pm.
The Amarillo Pioneer has submitted open records requests for the versions of Miller's contract before and after the amendment.