Aspen City Council on Monday approved an employment contract making Sara Ott interim city manager while also signing off on the process to recruit a permanent one through a national search.<\/p>\n
Ott, who has served as assistant city manager since May 2017, will be the interim city manager through Sept. 1 at a salary of $195,255.<\/p>\n
She is replacing Steve Barwick, who resigned at council’s request Jan. 7. He will now serve as an adviser to Ott at his current salary of $195,229. He is expected to leave the city no later than March 1.<\/p>\n
And March 4 is the deadline for recruiting firms to submit bids via a request for proposals to do a nationwide search for a new city manager.<\/p>\n
After much discussion on process and admitting they haven’t done this before, council members signed off on the timeline that city human resources director Alissa Farrell presented<\/a> to them.<\/p>\n A selection committee comprised of Councilman Ward Hauenstein, Mayor Steve Skadron, Farrell and possibly others will ultimately choose a headhunting firm.<\/p>\n It’s estimated a selection will be made by April 8, and council will sign a contract by April 15 and approve it on April 22, according to Farrell’s timeline.<\/p>\n It will likely take months to find qualified applicants and whittle the list down to finalists for council to consider.<\/p>\n The hope is to have someone hired by the fall.<\/p>\n That recruitment process is estimated to cost between $20,000 and $35,000, according to Farrell.<\/p>\n Hauenstein said he wants the city to “cast a wide net” in looking for applicants, and to find the appropriate person as soon as possible.<\/p>\n “We have to make the right choice,” he said.<\/p>\n Farrell said she is relying on many other experts and human resources cohorts in the public sector for help.<\/p>\n “This is the highest priority I have,” she said.<\/p>\n Barwick is leaving the position he held for 19 years with a severance package of a year’s salary, the ability to own his government-controlled house for a year and six months of health insurance for him and his wife, along with accrued paid time off.<\/p>\n Council signed off on those details in a separation agreement<\/a> Jan. 28.<\/p>\n According to Ott’s employment contract, her new salary is retroactive from Jan. 8.<\/p>\n Her job responsibilities changed on that date, once Barwick was terminated by a majority of council as a result of a series of missteps with communication with the public on city initiatives.<\/p>\n If Ott were terminated as interim city manager, she would receive 10 months’ salary as severance. If the agreement is extended beyond Sept. 1, the severance becomes a year’s salary.<\/p>\n Once a new city manager is hired, Ott will return to her assistant city manager position at her former salary of $162,843.<\/p>\n If Ott returns to her assistant city manager position and is terminated, she will receive a six-month severance at her salary at the time.<\/p>\n The city also will reimburse Ott as much as $2,500 in attorney’s fees for negotiating the employment contract.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories For You<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n