· Precursor
Council approves an amended employment agreement for City Manager Jared Miller, 4-1
At a special meeting about a month before the May 6, 2023 city election, the council voted 4-1 to approve City Manager Jared Miller's draft employment contract "as it is written." News reports said the agreement raised his salary from $294,000 to $313,000 a year, raised his vacation from 16 to 25 days, and required four of five council votes to remove him without cause. Councilmember Cole Stanley voted no. The council separated from Miller without cause on August 23, 2023.[1][2][3][4]
Jared MillerGinger NelsonFreda PowellEddy SauerHoward SmithCole Stanley
What the sources say
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After an executive session from 1:49 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on City Manager Jared Miller's performance evaluation and employment agreement, the council voted 4-1 on April 3, 2023 "to approve the draft contract for the City Manager Mr. Jared Miller, as it is written," on a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Freda Powell seconded by Councilmember Howard Smith. Mayor Ginger Nelson, Powell, and Councilmembers Eddy Sauer and Smith voted yes; Councilmember Cole Stanley voted no. [1][2]
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The minutes list 13 residents who spoke on agenda item 5A during public address: 11 spoke against it and 2 spoke on it without being recorded as for or against. No speaker is recorded as speaking for it. [1]
- Speakers against
- 11
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KAMR and The Amarillo Pioneer reported that the approved agreement raised Miller's salary from $294,000 to $313,000 a year (KAMR said the increase was based on 2022 CPI of 6.57%), raised his vacation from 16 to 25 days, adjusted his auto and cell phone allowances and sick days, and required four of the five council members to remove him without cause, up from three; removal for cause still required three votes. KAMR reported the contract has no fixed term. [3][4]
- Salary before
- $294,000
- Salary after
- $313,000
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Mayor Ginger Nelson: Mayor Ginger Nelson said "the current city manager's contract is six years old." The Amarillo Pioneer reported she said the negotiations stemmed from a performance evaluation the previous week and that a new council "haven't worked with Mr. Miller, they will have a very steep learning curve." [3][4]
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Councilmember Cole Stanley: Councilmember Cole Stanley, the only vote against, said, "For our future council, I don't feel this is right," and "I don't think it garners further trust." The Amarillo Pioneer reported that he asked Miller to decline the amended contract and that Miller did not. [3][4]
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Texas Scorecard: Texas Scorecard, reporting the August 2023 separation, wrote that before the May municipal elections "the previous City Council had renegotiated Miller's contract," including "a provision that required a four-vote supermajority to terminate the agreement." The August 23, 2023 separation vote was 5-0. [5][6]
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The text of the April 2023 agreement was not in the meeting's posted agenda packet, which lists only the item "Discuss and consider employment agreement with City Manager"; the terms above come from news reports. No fetched source states the severance formula in the amended agreement. [2]