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It's final: 5 more years

After months of wrangling, the council votes to keep Frank Edmunds around past 2008. But not without a few parting words about the process.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published January 4, 2006

SEMINOLE - With a 5-2 vote last week, City Council members ended three months of wrangling over the city manager's employment contract. In the end, they amended the contract.

The result: Frank Edmunds has a secure job until 2013, a five-year extension from the 2008 termination date that was in his contract. And, should the council decide to fire him without cause, he'll get two years' severance pay, rather than a lump sum for all the time remaining on the contract.

With the two years' severance, the city would be on the hook for a little more than $230,000, or twice Edmunds' current salary of about $113,192 a year.

That could go up a bit as Edmunds' salary increases, but it's a lot less than the $1-million that council member Dan Hester estimated Seminole could have been liable for had the contract not been amended. The original contract gave Edmunds severance for all the time remaining should he leave or be fired without cause.

Despite that victory, Hester still wanted to delay the extension until an expert in employment law looked over the contract. Mayor Dottie Reeder, the other vote against the extension at the Dec. 27 council meeting, agreed. The others did not.

Here are some excerpts from the contentious debate that ended unusual inquiries into Edmunds' 10-year-old employment contract.

DAN HESTER

"This is not about Mr. Edmunds, the individual, but in fact about the contract itself. ... I, for the life of me, can't understand what the fear factor might be in asking (an employment law expert) to look over it. ... This legislative body 60 days ago was ready to renew this thing out to 2013 with a potential contingent $1-million liability. I've said it before, it may not be a lot of money for (council member) Bob Matthews, but it's a heck of a lot of money to me."

BOB MATTHEWS

"We've been working on this for three months. ... Here in Seminole, we're trying to accomplish good leadership. ... This gentleman's (Edmunds) performed well. Any question other than extending it is a slap in the face to the city manger and I question why we would want to go there. ... The evaluation of the contract has nothing to do with what's on the table."

DOTTIE REEDER

"The question is not to extend or not to extend. ... The question is do we want it reviewed? ... I really feel it would be prudent and demonstrate very good government to ask an employment attorney to review, (to make sure) it is the best contract for our city and for our city manager. ... Of course we should extend. ... We're having a love fest here actually with our city manager ... but I see no harm in having an employment attorney review it."

JOHN COUNTS

"Extending one's contract is a vote of confidence and (is) extending support to a gentleman we've found in a superior leadership position."

FRANK EDMUNDS

From a written statement issued after the meeting:

"I think the City Council was thoughtful in their offer to extend my employment agreement five additional years from July 2008 to July 2013. Their action provides me with a sense of security and I look forward to working with the City Council as they address the challenges that will come before our city. I am humbled by the amount of community support and committed to assist the council as they strive to provide outstanding community services as efficiently as possible."

[Last modified January 4, 2006, 01:07:18]