| correspondent
DARTMOUTH – City Administrator Shawn MacInnes will serve as Dartmouth's Chief Administrative Officer for another three years, receiving a notable pay increase after the Select Board voted 3-2 on Monday to renew his contract.
The Select Board was split over the raise MacInnes is to receive. MacInnes will see a $ 25,000 increase in his new contract to bring his annual salary to $ 185,000 in the first fiscal year, followed by a 2.5% increase every new year.
The selected CEO Frank Gracie III and the selected board member John Haran gave the two votes against.
Selected board members who opposed the wage increase questioned its appropriateness as the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent government-mandated restrictions continue to weigh on local economies and municipal budgets.
“The city of Dartmouth has lost revenue. Food tax, excise tax, and permit income have all come down and businesses are closing. Mr. MacInnes came before the Select Board because of his contract extension. He said he wanted $ 185,000 – an increase of $ 25,000 from the first year of his first contract. The Select Board didn't negotiate, they didn't make a counter offer, ”said Select Board member John Haran, addressing the city's union members.
MacInnes has been with Dartmouth for two years and left his position with the City of Yarmouth in July 2018 to replace former and longtime City Administrator David Cressman.
“The Select Board, through Mr. MacInnes, has asked our unions to accept increases in the region of 2%. All my life I have been told to lead by example. In good times, the captain and team receive raises, and maybe the captain receives more than the team, but in bad times, the captain receives the same raise as the team. I have not insulted you to any of the union members in Dartmouth City. I didn't vote for this contract, ”said Haran.
Haran went on to argue that after over 20 years in the job, Cressman was on a salary of $ 150,000, suggesting MacInnes 'two years' experience in Dartmouth.
Selected board members who voted in favor of the new salary said it was comparable to the salaries of city administrators in surrounding cities.
“This is a significant increase, and we've also done a thorough review of the market. The marketplace had some examples that were comparable to the city and others that were larger or smaller. We found that small towns are looking for skilled people and willing to pay even more than Mr. MacInnes asked for, even more for a city that is a third the size, ”said David Tatelbaum, a member of the Select Board who also owns the MacInnes in another city listed possibility of loss as a reason for his support.
“If we did go shopping again, I'm pretty sure we'd find someone who would cost us in a similar area, but without the proven track record of these – yes – the last two years, but this one It's been in this business for 25 years. He was now in charge of a $ 95 million company through crisis after crisis after crisis. I don't want to spend that kind of money, but I don't want to lose this guy, ”he said.
The Cape Cod Times reported in June that MacInnes was one of two finalists interviewed for the position of city administrator in Wellfleet, having previously served as director of information technology in the city of Yarmouth for 15 years and as the city's operations manager for three years had worked.
Referring to the amount of annual savings MacInnes has provided for the city in his role, Shawn McDonald, vice chairman of the Select Board, also argued that the big wage increase only applies to the first year of the contract, with a small percentage every subsequent year Represent increase.
“We asked Mr. MacInnes to give us the opportunity to give us a history of cost savings. The cost savings that Mr. MacInnes has monitored, implemented and offered – have been saved over time far more than the initial cost of the raise, "said McDonald.
The Standard Times could not reach MacInnes to comment on the extension of his contract.