ITHACA N.Y.- Members of the Common Council voted unanimously to set the salary range for the role of a new city manager at $160,000-$185,000 during their monthly meeting Wednesday.
A working group of members created in 2021 proposed the initial figure of $165,000 using outdated data from 2018. The group was responsible for researching and then suggesting salary ranges, roles and responsibilities for the new position.
Members floated ranges for consideration during the meeting and council member Ducson Nguyen recommended $200,000 as the salary cap to stay competitive in the search to ensure the best candidate is hired.
He said he wanted to vote that night to “get the ball rolling” on the interview process. Mayor Laura Lewis said it was important during the meeting they reached an agreement Wednesday, as a new city manager expected to start work by Jan. 1 2024.
Council member Donna Fleming suggested the $160,000-$185,000 range approved by a 9-0 vote that night. She was also a part of the working group that incorrectly estimated salary ranges for the position.
The high end of this salary range is more than any department head working in the City of Ithaca earns annually, Alderperson Cynthia Brock said during the meeting.
She said the city does not offer competitive salaries for department heads or chief operators. For example, the market rate of a 4A wastewater treatment plant chief operator is $120,000 annually, and the head position of Ithaca’s Wastewater Treatment Facility is currently budgeted for less than the industry standard. She also cited that in May of this year, members voted to increase the salary offered for a new police chief from $132,000 to $150,000 to attract more applicants.
Lewis and search consultant Ian Coyle can begin the recruiting and hiring process for the position now the salary range has been approved.
The conversation regarding salary ranges for the new city manager came to a head last month when the Common Council held a Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting to hammer out specifics like salary and the power members are to have regarding the removal of a city manager, which is an unelected position.
Coyle, a consultant hired by the city to assist in hiring for the role, spoke at the COW meeting in July where he shared his concern about how the proposed salary figure of $165,000 might hinder qualified candidates from applying for the position.
He said the industry standard, both nationally and in the state, for city managers is “much higher” than the initial figure after conducting market research and surveys.
Coyle told members the market for attracting qualified city managers to new cities is “ultra competitive,” and in order to pique the interest of talented applicants, the council would need to increase the salary range to meet industry standard, which is about $175,000-$200,000.
Members at the COW meeting expressed “shock,” in Coyle’s words, after hearing his suggested salary range. The general consensus in the room was that the high end of this range, $200,000, was not realistic for the city budget.
Alderperson George McGonigal said at the time that if the council wants a “good city manager,” they have to “pay the freight.”
Former Mayor Svante Myrick proposed the transition to a city manager form of government in 2021.
The public, as well as council members, voted to approve the transition to a city manager form of government in a ballot referendum in Nov. 2022, under the impression it would be less expensive than it turned out to be.
At the meeting next week, members will discuss and vote on the power they will have to dismiss a city manager if a majority deem it necessary.
Council member and mayoral candidate Robert Cantelmo spoke in support of members being able to dismiss a city manager with a simple majority vote at the COW meeting in July.
The new amendment to the city charter that, when approved in full by members of council, will finalize the city manager role, was written by City Attorney Ari Lavine and distributed to members by Lewis at the COW meeting in July.
The amendment requires a supermajority (⅔) vote of council to remove a city manager from their position. The number of votes to reach a supermajority is more difficult to achieve than Cantelmo’s suggestion.
Clarification: There is no current leader of the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility, but the position is budgeted for less than the industry standard.
Correction: Robert Cantelmo is proposing a simple majority vote to remove the city manager, not a simple majority plus one.