Last month, the Marathon City Council picked their successor for the city’s top post. This month, they’ll settle the price and conditions.
The council is set to review an employment contract for Steve Williams, currently serving as both the city attorney and interim city manager, at its regular session on Tuesday Sept. 8 at 5:30 p.m. Williams has held both roles since March, after the council terminated then-City Manager George Garrett in February.
Per the council’s direction in August, the agreement was reviewed for legal sufficiency by consulting firm Vernis & Bowling. Council members also asked Williams to see if deputy City Attorney Alli Heller would be willing to step into his post as City Attorney once the contract is finalized.
Key terms of the contract include the following:
- A base salary of $289,881.40, along with annual reviews and adjustments that, at minimum, match cost-of-living adjustments given to other city employees. Additional benefits include retirement plan contributions, health care and a $650 per month vehicle expense allowance.
- Raising the vote required to terminate the city manager from a basic majority (3/5) vote to a supermajority (4/5) vote. The council previously terminated Garrett with a 3-2 vote.
- A severance package of 20 weeks pay if Williams is terminated without cause by the council, matching the package in Garrett’s previous contract.
- Under the current draft, if Williams is terminated by the council, he will revert to his previous post of City Attorney under his prior employment contract. If he is then terminated from his City Attorney post within the next calendar year, he would be entitled to two 20-week severance packages – one for each position. Under Marathon’s current charter, the city manager and city attorney are the only two staff positions hired and fired by the city council.
- If Marathon elects to substantially change its form of government – such as a pivot to a strong-mayor format – and significantly change the responsibilities and role of the city manager, the change would be considered a termination without cause if Williams so chooses, and he would be entitled to the same 20-week severance pay.
- An open-ended clause allowing the council to set a one-time lump-sum payment for Williams’ added service to the city during his months as both interim city manager and city attorney. According to the current draft, “(Williams) has foregone approximately $84,000 in wages if he were to have received both his pay as attorney and the pay of the former manager.”
The contract is listed as a consent agenda item when the council meets on Tuesday. Other notable items on the agenda include 50-unit transfers of early-evacuation affordable housing units from the cities of Layton and Key Colony Beach to Marathon, and a discussion of parking spaces at the Harbor Drive boat ramp. A full agenda will be published at ci.marathon.fl.us under the “Meetings & Agendas” tab.
