Steve Powers will make $145K as Ann Arbor's next city administrator
Steve Powers has accepted a job offer to become Ann Arbor's next city administrator, members of the city's negotiations team confirmed today.
Powers, who currently makes $88,250 as the county administrator in Marquette County, will have a starting base salary of $145,000 in Ann Arbor, city officials said. That's at the low end of the $145,000 to $150,000 range city officials identified going into negotiations.
Powers' tentative start date is Sept. 15.
Roger Fraser, who served as Ann Arbor's administrator for more than nine years, earned a base salary of a little more than $145,000 a year before resigning in April.
However, due to cash perks he received, Fraser's pay was closer to $160,000 some years.
Steve Powers
Sources say Powers will not be provided a car allowance, a perk enjoyed by Fraser, and it's also expected Powers will not be getting as good of a deal as Fraser on his pension.
However, the contract with Powers is expected to include provisions for a city-provided cell phone, as well as moving and relocation expenses for temporary housing for up to six months.
Powers, who was offered the job on July 18, could not be reached for comment.
"It was nice we were able to quickly work out a contract with our next city administrator and I'm excited about getting him in town and having him get started," said Mayor John Hieftje, giving credit to CFO Tom Crawford for filling in as city administrator in the interim. "Tom Crawford did an excellent job filling in and I don't think the city missed a beat."
The City Council meets at 7 p.m. Thursday instead of Monday this week due to Tuesday's primary election.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's e-mail newsletters.
Comments
Mike
Tue, Aug 2, 2011 : 5:56 p.m.
He should have gone after the school superintendent job, it pays a lot more............Some financial manager he is.
Bill
Tue, Aug 2, 2011 : 1:54 p.m.
I agree that this position could have been put on hold for some period of time or eliminated. According to the Mayor "Tom Crawford did an excellent job filling in and I don't think the city missed a beat." It is common in the business world to eliminate positions and redistribute the responsibilities to others within the company. In some cases, a slight increase in salary may be given to those taking on additional responsibilities. Too bad the City Council doesn't think more like business people than politicans.
Goober
Tue, Aug 2, 2011 : 1:27 p.m.
Wonder why he was hired and given a contract. I do not understand why he is not being hired under the usual Michigan At-Will conditions like most of us are in private industry. It would be interesting to find out what other perks were given to him in his contract.
nixon41
Tue, Aug 2, 2011 : 1:02 p.m.
I'm speechless
Bogie
Tue, Aug 2, 2011 : 12:12 p.m.
Remember the days when there was a mayor, and city council? Over the last 20 years, it is funny to see how many positions our local government and schools have created. My question is, " what does a mayor do anymore?" It is just another signal of how we have had to change, but government refuses. 145000 would atleast cover the expense of one more cop out there trying to catch a rapist. Also, if city government would hang the art of local students in their precious castle; they could put another cop out there. I don't think a2 is the exception, but the norm of today's political office holders.
Les Gov
Tue, Aug 2, 2011 : 10:29 a.m.
Nice....I want to take a poll. How many of of us AA taxpayers got a 64% pay raise this year? Great for Powers. Once again the city tosses our tax dollars to the wind.
mentalNomad
Tue, Aug 2, 2011 : 3:07 p.m.
I assume the cost of living is slightly higher in A2 than in Marquette County. If this position actually is important and carries a lot of responsibility (which I do not know but that is a different issue), how much would you do this job for?
Kai Petainen
Tue, Aug 2, 2011 : 2:34 a.m.
"county administrator in Marquette County"... nice, it'll be nice to have a Yooper down here. (i'm originally from northern ontario)
Jack Gladney
Mon, Aug 1, 2011 : 11:42 p.m.
Has the City Council considered leaving the post vacant? $145K could get some new art for City Hall you know.