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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-298 Employment Agrmt - R. Appicello DRAFT CITY OF ASHLAND Employment Agreement City Attorney THIS AGREEMENT, made and entered into this 18th day of December, 2007, by and between the City of Ashland ("City") and Richard Appicello. ("Employee"). R E C I TAL S: A. City desires to employ the services of Employee as City Attorney of the City of Ashland; and B. It is the desire of the Mayor and City Council to establish certain conditions of employment for Employee; and C. It is the desire of the Council to (1) secure and retain the services of Employee and to provide inducement for Employee to remain in such employment, (2) to make possible full work productivity by assuring Employee's morale and peace of mind with respect to future security; (3) to act as a deterrent against malfeasance or dishonesty for personal gain on the part of Employee; and (4) to provide a just means for terminating Employee's services at such time as Employee may be unable fully to discharge Employee's duties due to disability or when City may otherwise desire to terminate Employee's services; and D. Employee desires to accept employment as City Attorney of City of Ashland. City and Employee agree as follows: Section 1. Duties. The city hereby agrees to employ Richard Appicello as the City Attorney of the City to perform the functions and duties specified in said City Charter and to perform such other legally permissible and proper duties and functions as the City Council shall from time to time assign. The City Attorney shall devote full time to the performance of his duties. The City Attorney may hold outside employment so long as it does not impact the ability of the City Attorney to effectively perform his duties. Section 2. Term. A. Nothing in this agreement shall prevent, limit, or otherwise interfere with the right of the Mayor, with the consent of the City Council in accordance with the City Charter, from terminating the services of the City Attorney at any time, subject only to the provisions set forth in the section entitled "Severance pay" of this agreement. B. Employee agrees to remain in the employ of City until December 2009, and, except as set forth in Section 1, neither to accept other employment nor to become employed by any other employer until this termination date, unless the termination date is affected as otherwise provided in this agreement. PAGE 1 C. In the event written notice is not given by either party to terminate this agreement at least ninety (90) days prior to the termination date, this agreement shall be extended for successive two-year periods on the same terms and conditions as provided herein. This provision shall not restrict Employee from using vacation or personal leave for teaching, consulting or other activities provided these activities do not conflict with the regular duties of the Employee. D. In the event Employee wishes to voluntarily resign the position during the term of this agreement, Employee shall be required to give the City six weeks written notice of such intention, unless such notice is waived by the City Administrator with the approval of the Mayor and City Council. Employee will cooperate in every way with the smooth and normal transfer to the newly appointed individual. Further, the City Attorney will be available for consultation and conferences concerning on-going legal matters and will not in any way jeopardize the legal position of the city. Consultation or further legal services furnished by said City Attorney after term of employment has ended, due to resignation, shall be done on a fee basis which is mutually agreeable to said City and City Attorney. Section 3. Salary. Beginning December 19, 2007, City agrees to pay Employee a monthly salary of $8,319 (Step 2 of salary range) payable at the same time and in the same manner as other employees of the City are paid. In addition, City agrees to annually increase the monthly salary and/or benefits in the same percentage as may be accorded other department heads. Employee shall be eligible for step increases on December 2008, and December 2009, based on satisfactory performance. Section 4. Performance Evaluation. The Mayor and City Council and the City Administrator shall review and evaluate the performance of the employee after six (6) months, or no later than June 30, 2008. After this first evaluation, subsequent performance evaluations by the Mayor and Council, with participation by the City Administrator, shall take place after twelve (12) months of employment and annually thereafter. Said review and evaluation shall be in accordance with specific criteria developed jointly by City and Employee. Further, the Mayor and Council shall provide the Employee with a summary written statement of the findings of the evaluation process and provide an adequate opportunity for the Employee to discuss his evaluation with the Mayor and Council. Section 5. Hours of Work. It is recognized that Employee must devote a great deal of time outside the normal office hours to business of the City, and to that end Employee will be allowed to take compensatory time off as Employee shall deem appropriate during normal office hours, so long as the business of the department is not adversely affected. Section 6. Health, Welfare and Retirement. Employee shall be entitled to receive the same retirement, vacation and sick leave benefits, holidays, and other fringe benefits and working conditions as they now exist or may be amended in the future, as apply to any other department head, in addition to any benefits enumerated specifically for the benefit of Employee as provided in this agreement. With respect to vacation benefits, the Employee will initially accrue vacation leave with pay at PAGE 2 the rate of ten and 2/3rds (10.67) hours per month. Employee shall continue to accrue vacation time at this rate until longevity would afford Employee a higher vacation accrual in accordance with the Management Resolution. Afterward, Employee will accrue additional vacation hours at the same rate as City Department Heads. Section 7. Dues and Subscriptions. City agrees to budget and to pay for the professional dues and subscriptions of Employee necessary for the continuation and full participation in national, regional, state and local associations and organizations necessary and desirable for Employee's continued professional participation, growth and advancement, and for the good of the City. Section 8. Professional Development. A. The City hereby agrees to annually budget and allocate sufficient funds to pay the expenses of the City Attorney's necessary travel and living expenses to represent the City at the annual League of Oregon cities' Conference, International Municipal Lawyers Association, the Oregon State Bar Convention, and conferences or meetings of national and state committees or commissions upon which the City Attorney serves as a member, said membership on said state commissions or committees being subject to the approval of the City Council, and for such other official meetings or travel as are reasonably necessary for the professional advancement of the City Attorney as approved by the City Council. B. City also agrees to budget and to pay for the travel and subsistence expenses of Employee for short courses, institutes and seminars that are necessary for his professional development and for the good of the City. Section 9. Oregon State Bar License. The City Attorney shall maintain throughout the life of this agreement, a valid Oregon State Bar license as required by the State of Oregon in order to practice law and appear before the courts of this State. The City shall pay the City Attorney's annual Bar dues and the annual Jackson County Bar dues. Section 10. Professional Liability. The City agrees that it shall defend, hold harmless, and indemnify the City Attorney from all demands, claims, suits, actions, errors, or other omissions in legal proceedings brought against the City Attorney in his individual capacity or in his official capacity, provided the incident arose while the City Attorney was acting within the scope of his employment. If in the good faith opinion of the City Attorney, conflict exists as regards to the defense of any such claim between the legal position of the City and the City Attorney, the City Attorney may engage counsel, in which event, the City shall indemnify the City Attorney for the cost of legal counsel. If the City desires the City Attorney to give third party legal opinions for the benefit of the City and it is determined by the Oregon State Bar that City Attorney, in order to do so, shall obtain malpractice insurance, City agrees to cover the costs of such malpractice insurance. Section 11. Severance Pay. A. In the event of the involuntary termination of the City Attorney during the term of this agreement, he shall be entitled to receive a lump sum payment equal to six (6) months aggregate salary and benefits. Termination by the City, as used in this PAGE 3 paragraph, means the City Attorney's discharge or dismissal by the Mayor with consent of the City Councilor the City Attorney's resignation following a salary reduction greater in percentage than an across-the-board reduction for all city employees, or the City Attorney's resignation following a formal request to him by the City Council that he resign. Said sum shall be paid to the City Attorney within thirty (30) days of the next regular council meeting after said termination. B. In the event Employee is terminated because of his conviction of any crime involving moral turpitude or illegal act involving personal gain to him, or for the loss of his Oregon State Bar license, then, in that event, City shall have no obligation to pay the aggregate severance sum designated in Section 11.A. Section 12. Other Terms and Conditions of Employment. City shall, by amendments to this agreement, fix such other terms and conditions of employment, from time to time, as it may determine, relating to the performance by Employee with the agreement of Employee, provided such terms and conditions are not inconsistent or in conflict with the provisions of this agreement. Section 13. Severability. If any part, term, or provision of this agreement is held by the courts to be illegal or in conflict with the laws of the State of Oregon, the validity of the remaining portions of the agreement shall not be affected and the rights and obligations of the parties shall be construed and enforced as if the agreement did not contain the particular part, term, or provision. Section 14. PERS Pick-up. Employee contributions to the Public Employees' Retirement system (PERS) shall be "picked up" by the City. Employee shall not have the option of receiving money designated for retirement contributions and directly making the contribution to PERS. Employee's reported salary for tax purposes shall be reduced by the amount of the employee's contribution to PERS. /.5 of ck~, 20~ Barbara Christensen, City Recorder Accepted this J.:l ~: of ~' 201.8. \ ') PAGE 4.