Effectively wrapping up its pursuit of a new city manager, the Durham City Council unanimously voted yesterday to accept the terms of a deal with Marcia Conner, current assistant city manager of Austin, Texas.
"It's done except for the ink drying on the page," said Mayor Nick Tennyson.
The vote came after Tennyson flew Wednesday to Austin to negotiate the details of her compensation in person. Tennyson said he and Conner had discussed the terms that the council approved today, and that she had made an "absolute categorical statement" that she would come to Durham under those conditions.
Conner, who is expected to begin in mid-May, will make $138,000 each year, and receive a benefit package. The terms include severance conditions that effectively guarantee that Conner will be on the city's payroll until December 2002, unless the contract is renegotiated or she is fired on grounds of "malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty or incompetence."
By comparison, the starting salary of Conner's predecessor, Lamont Ewell, was $114,000 in 1997. When he left Durham last December to take a job in San Diego, he was earning $150,623.
Even though Conner will be receiving considerably more than Ewell's initial salary, council members did not see the package as overly costly.
"I really do believe that we have a fair and reasonable compensation package that really rewards the skills that Ms. Conner brings to this area," said council member Floyd McKissick.
Tennyson agreed, saying the contract was not so lucrative as it might appear.
"We've got a $200 million business," he said. "We do not pay the CEO of that business anything approaching a market rate.... I think the compensation package is reflective of public service responsibilities and talent."
Other provisions-such as vacations and severance terms that increase with each year Conner holds the job-are intended to give her incentives to stay for at least five years, longer than Ewell's three-and-a-half.
"We're all agreed that it would have been much better had we been able to keep Lamont for that long," Tennyson said. "One of the things that we most wanted to do is provide incentives for stability, and, you know, I think the fact that she's thinking in terms of her long-range future as she contemplates what compensation she wants is a good sign."
Council members were pleased that Conner is now certain to become the city manager.
"She is what our community needs, and certainly she is what our existing city organization expects in terms of expertise," council member Pamela Blyth said.
Conner was equally glad to hear the news of the council's approval, Tennyson said. While talking to reporters, the mayor received a phone call from Conner. He reported her reaction to the news of the vote: "She said she's very excited, and looking forward to coming to Durham soon."
Conner could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Tennyson said he expects Conner's primary focus in office to be management, compared to the hiring decisions in which Ewell was often involved.
"One of the very obvious strengths she brings is the experience with fiscal matters," he said. "The other thing... that you'd have to be completely out of your mind not to notice is that we need real growth management expertise."
Tennyson also cited public safety as a primary focus for Conner.
"I told her that we've made progress but that we're nowhere near where we need to be," he said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.