Reade's contract wants benefits

The City Commission meets today to negotiate with the new manager.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published June 19, 2007

DADE CITY - The compensation package sought by newly hired City Manager Richard Reade totals $30, 000 more than the current manager is paid, records show.

Much of the difference is in the form of benefits not offered to other city employees.

The City Commission voted last month to hire Reade to replace Harold Sample, who is leaving after four years as the city's chief executive.

Mayor Hutch Brock has been negotiating a contract with Reade, 36, and the commission meets today to comb through each provision.

Reade is seeking a salary of $85, 000 a year, according to an early draft of his contract, which is the midpoint of the advertised pay range. His pay would increase to $90, 000 after six months.

Sample earns slightly more than $81, 000.

According to a side-by-side comparison prepared by the city, Sample's total compensation, including insurance and other benefits, is about $97, 500 annually. As proposed, Reade's would come to $128, 108.

In the proposed contract, the city would pay health insurance premiums for Reade, his wife and their newborn son. In all other cases, the city pays premiums for employees only, at a cost of $335 a month per employee. Reade's family coverage would cost $1, 005 per month, according to city records.

He has asked for a life insurance policy worth three times his salary, with a $424 city-paid annual premium. Sample has a flat $20, 000 policy, with a $46 city-paid premium - the same available to other employees.

Reade's other requests include $400 per month reimbursement for auto expenses, $100 per month for a cell phone, disability insurance and a 13 percent employer contribution to a retirement plan - all benefits not afforded to other city employees.

The city pays a 4 percent match to most other employees' 401k plans and a flat 5 percent to Sample's.

Reade also would be credited with a year's worth of vacation and sick time on his first day of work, then accrue more time at the normal rate.

The document acknowledges the political nature of the manager's job. In the event he is fired, Reade seeks six months severance pay, including continued insurance coverage and car and phone expenses.

The contract further specifies that if he is fired in the year following the election of new commissioners, he would receive an additional 12 months of severance pay.

Fast Facts:

What do other managers make?

Scott Miller, New Port Richey: $109, 720

Steve Spina, Zephyrhills: $89, 800

Jerry Calhoun, Port Richey: $70, 000

[Last modified June 18, 2007, 23:06:37]