The city administrator of Oconto Falls was granted a 10 percent raise, effective Oct. 3, following a closed session meeting of the City Council on Oct. 21.
Vicki Roberts, city administrator since January 2009, will earn an annual salary of $80,000, up from $72,905. She was last granted a raise in December 2013 when the council approved a 2 percent salary increase for all city employees.
Mayor Brad Rice did not respond to the Times Herald’s requests for a comment regarding the raise.
Roberts was hired in December 2007 as the deputy clerk and was named interim city administrator in August 2008 after John Dougherty resigned.
Roberts will also receive a weekly stipend of $136.44, effective Oct. 3, as decided by the Oconto Falls Municipal Utilities Commission on Oct. 20.
The stipend will be paid until the commission hires a utility manager. Manager Chuck Grady resigned Oct. 7, after the city placed him on paid administrative leave Oct. 3 and initiated an investigation into an undisclosed issue. Lineman Jason Valentine was named interim manager, earning a $100 weekly stipend.
Commission President Jim Kardoskee said Roberts’ responsibilities increased after Grady resigned.
“Vicki is taking on more of the administrative part of the manager’s position,” he said.
The commission will review the duties of the manager and rewrite the job description before advertising the opening, Kardoskee said.
“We are moving cautiously forward,” he said. “It’s been 13 or 14 years since we hired a manager.”
He said the commission will begin accepting applications after the first of the year. A manager should hired in the spring.
The commission also agreed to increase the percent of Robert’s salary paid by Oconto Falls Municipal Utility from 15 to 25 percent, effective Jan. 1.
Kardoskee attributed the change to the expanded workload for Roberts due to the state Highway 22 construction project under way in Oconto Falls.
“That percentage is something the (city and utility’s) auditors look at every year,” he said.
Categories
