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Salt Lake City taxpayers are about to pony up close to $1 million in severance and benefits packages for at-will employees of former two-term Mayor Ralph Becker who were not retained by Mayor Jackie Biskupski.
The money will come out of the general fund for the 2015-16 budget. A spokesman for Biskupski said the city will end the budget year without deficit.
"We are bound by law to honor those contracts," Matthew Rojas said.
Biskupski will examine the severance rates, he added, to determine whether they are in line with similar municipalities.
City Councilwoman Lisa Adams said the severance packages are a big hit on what she called the city's "rainy day fund." She added, however, that the employees earned the severance that was set by City Hall.
In an election year, she said, the council should have considered more carefully the ramifications of a new administration.
"It's not a total surprise, but we were not forward-looking enough last year [in preparing the budget]." The council, too, may revisit severance rates, she said.
Most of the departing department heads worked at City Hall for many years, leading to large severances. Such hefty packages won't come again in the next few years, Adams said, simply because most remaining at-will employees haven't been with the city for long periods.
Such compensation programs are aimed at employees who work at the pleasure of the mayor and could find themselves out of a job after an election.
It is available only to employees who leave their jobs unwillingly. The payouts represent severance, as well as accrued vacation and personal leave days.
One million dollars is a lot of money, said Council Chairman James Rogers.
"It's the mayor's prerogative [to replace department heads]. But it comes with an expense," said Rogers, who was a Becker supporter during the campaign. "Is what she is doing better for the city or worse? We'll have to wait and see."
Here are the details of the payouts:
Debra Alexander • Former director of the Department of Human Resources, eight years: $94,895.
D.J. Baxter • Former Redevelopment Agency director, 15 years: $98,295.
Bill Haight • Former director of Information Management Systems, 18 years: $117,851.
Jeff Niermeyer • Former director of the Department of Public Utilities, 25 years: $131,250.
Jill Love • Former director of the Department of Community and Economic Development, two years: $30,510.
Rick Graham • Former director of the Department of Public Services, 35 years, and his assistant, Patty Jarvis: $142,748.
Fourteen employees in Becker's office will receive a total of $273,532.
The sum, plus taxes the city will pay, is $974,801.
Former Mayor Rocky Anderson, who directly preceded Becker, said he had reduced severance rates after taking office from former Mayor Deedee Corradini.
"I pushed to dramatically reduce severance packages," he said. "Former Police Chief Ruben Ortega was fired by Corradini so he could get a severance. I raised hell. It was an abuse."
But Rogers said the department heads who recently left City Hall have saved taxpayers millions and millions of dollars.
"Some of these people dedicated their entire careers to the city. Look at the contributions they have made," he said. "The severance pales in comparison to what they've been able to accomplish within the budget year after year."