Virginia Beach city manager offered $219,000 a year to stay on the job
By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-11-06 17:45:02 | Word Count: 425
Virginia Beach City Council voted to renew the city manager's two-year $219,715 contract on Monday night, complete with free health insurance and a car allowance.
"I'd say he's under compensated, for a city of our size and for the qualities that he has as a city manager. We have probably one of the best city managers in the country," said Mayor Will Sessoms.
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Council member Bill Desteph disagrees about long-time city manager Jim Spore's mega contract.
"I've lost confidence in his ability to provide accurate, timely information and I disagree with a lot of the things in the basic contract we extended tonight. Our other council appointees pay for their own health insurance, all of our city employees pay for their own health insurance, and I thought it was only right in these economic times to have our city manager pay for his own health insurance," said Desteph.
Just hours before the contract was renewed, NewsChannel 3 learned Spore asked city employees to fill out a survey to let him know how they would try to cut the city's budget next year. The options, among a few others, include layoffs, furloughs, or a 1% cut of all city workers pay.
Desteph thinks the survey request is "kind of ironic."
Mayor Sessoms insists the timing was a coincidence. He says Spore's new salary actually kicked in Jul. 1, 2009. The vote was just a technicality. He said in the financial crisis, " there are some tough decisions out there and I applaud the city manager for asking for input from city employees."
He says nothing is set in stone when it comes to next year's budget. Not Spore's salary. Not even his own.
If city employees were asked to take a cut, Mayor Sessoms "would ask the city council to take the same percentage of reduction. I would ask the council appointees to take the same percentage reduction that any city employee would be asked to do. If they are asked to do it. That could be jumping the gun. Is it off the table? No. Is it on the table? Yes."
