By Paul Gottlieb
Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — The City Council has approved a contract for newly appointed City Manager Dan McKeen that pays him $135,000 annually, or $22,000 less than his predecessor, Kent Myers.
And McKeen won’t get the new car Myers was going to get, either.
“I went into the contract with a couple of goals in mind, and one of them was to assure the community and council and actually city employees, city staff, that this was a fair contract,” McKeen said Wednesday.
No new car
“Kent had built in his contract that he was to get a car this year, and Dan said, ‘no car, that’s out,’” said Port Angeles Mayor Cherie Kidd. “He’s just so reasonable, and he’s making some real positive changes in the city manager agreement and contract.”
Council members decided Tuesday to pay McKeen the same salary he has made as interim city manager since April.
The council had agreed to pay Myers’ successor between $130,000 and $145,000.
Myers, who left in May to take the city manager position in Fredericksburg, Texas, was paid $157,000.
McKeen, formerly the city fire chief, made $112,548 in that position before being named city manager on an interim basis in April.
The council unanimously appointed him as city manager July 20.
Car allowance
Under his new contract, McKeen may not get a new car, but he will receive a $375-a-month car allowance, Kidd said.
He also will get the same benefits package as department heads, not the special benefits package Myers received.
Public Works and Utilities Director Glenn Cutler makes $130,472, followed by City Attorney Bill Bloor at $119,402.
McKeen also will get four months of severance pay if he is dismissed compared with the six months Myers would have received, Kidd said.
Myers’ predecessor, Mark Madsen, who resigned in 2008, had five months of severance pay built into his contract, she said.
“[McKeen] has really gone through this, and he is giving us an offer which also saves us in every category, and I appreciate that,” Kidd said.
McKeen, 56, said he won’t be looking for a new job while he’s Port Angeles city manager.
“Port Angeles has been our home for the last 27 years, and I plan on retiring here,” McKeen said. “I have family who moved to the area. This is our home. We will not be leaving Port Angeles.
“My wife made that very clear.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.
gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
