Ann Arbor Council OKs New City Admin Pay

At its Aug. 4, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council approved a contract with Steve Powers, the newly hired city administrator, who will start on Sept. 15, 2011.

Highlights include a $145,000 base salary to be paid in weekly installments. His relocation expenses from Marquette will be reimbursed up to $30,000. His health insurance will be equivalent to other non-union employee plans. He’ll have 10 sick days accruing annually and 20 days of vacation accruing annually. He’ll begin with 10 vacation days in the bank. He’ll have a cellular allowance and data stipend. He will not participate in the city’s pension program. Instead, he will be in a 401(a) plan. The city of Ann Arbor will match Powers’ contribution 2-1 up to 15% of his annual salary. That is, if he contributes 7.5% percent of his salary to the 401(a), the city will contribute 15%. He will have a retiree health care reimbursement account accessible on retirement, and the city’s initial contribution to that will be $2,500.

The council’s search committee had accepted a staff recommendation to target recruitment in the $145,000-$150,000 range. The committee was presented with comparable data in three different sets: Link to Google Spreadsheet with data from Michigan cities, Big Ten cities, and midwestern cities. Some kind of vehicle allowance appears standard for the comparables used to determine compensation.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]