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AurelianoTampa t1_j8ox2vf wrote

Sorry if it seems like a silly question, but why does a public official get almost half a million in severance for being fired? I can understand getting your PTO cashed out - that was earned - but what's with that insane amount for getting canned?

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yawetag12 t1_j8p3cp0 wrote

Because it was part of their contract. I'm sure the wording was based on the type of termination, and they allowed it to be the one that gets him the cash-out.

In the end, it was probably cheaper to give him the cash-out than defend themselves in court and then pay the cash-out, interest, and lawyer fees.

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tronn4 t1_j8pdpkz wrote

I'll bring up that request for that wording for our next union contract

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mrthebear5757 t1_j8p3xk8 wrote

They are a public official in the sense that they work for a government office, but a city manager for a city of a million people is a job that is designed to operate "like the CEO of a business", as the article said. The kind of people qualified to take these positions are not common, and it is a highly compensated field when you are hiring for someone responsible for departments, etc. of such a large city. You are essentially hiring someone who could be running a mid to large size business.

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thegreatestajax t1_j8pz3ht wrote

Yep. They’re the technocrat that keeps things going while politicians squabble for the masses.

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sjfiuauqadfj t1_j8qgocb wrote

austin also has a weak mayor system so the city manager has a lot of power while the mayor is more or less just there to cosplay as jesus

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pbaus t1_j8p7gke wrote

As another commenter stated, it's part of his severance package, negotiated at the start of his employment contract. IIRC, it was 12 months of salary + 18 months of his/his husband's COBRA coverage.

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Watcher0363 t1_j8pfj2e wrote

COBRA is some expensive insurance. City should have went with 18 months of ACA coverage.

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JohnGillnitz t1_j8psbq5 wrote

Taking a job like that means you are eventually going to become the fall guy for something. This just bakes that expectation into the job. He'll have no problem finding another city to run if that is what he wants to do.

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pittypitty t1_j8ozzoo wrote

Because it's called hush money.

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AurelianoTampa t1_j8p0tk8 wrote

Thanks, but... this isn't an answer. I want to know why they get that amount.

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pittypitty t1_j8p7kr7 wrote

Don't we all want to know the answer? Just taking a look at recent history, I imagine there is enough to bring more unwanted attention their way and I'm sure they had this guy sign an NDA to at least stop one leak. Money helps too.

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