Council OKs manager pay deal

Jane Howington officially is the new city manager for Kalispell.

In a 7-2 vote at a special meeting Monday night, the City Council authorized Mayor Pam Kennedy to sign the employment agreement that Howington already had signed last week.

Howington, currently the assistant city manager for operations in Dayton, Ohio, got the council's unanimous support for the post after a pending deal with Matt McKillip fell through.

But with the council struggling with budget cuts across the board, her salary didn't get the same unanimous backing.

She will be paid $112,500 plus another $5,000 into a retirement fund annually, receive up to $20,000 in moving expenses or more if she documents the cost, be provided a city car for business needs and for personal use within Flathead County, get three months' severance, and receive a package of vacation, sick leave, medical and dental, and state retirement.

"Her resume indicates she is qualified," council member Bob Hafferman said in leading off the discussion. "But a resume and references are only the applicant putting their best foot forward, and only time will tell."

Council member Jim Atkinson said: "I would have liked to see (the salary) lower, but this selection committee has done as good a job as they could do." He asked his colleagues "to seriously consider voting to approve this unanimously and start out on the right foot."

Everybody wanted the salary to be lower, council member Wayne Saverud agreed, but he pointed to her two master's degrees in urban planning and public administration and her experience.

Howington's first day as city manager is expected to be Aug. 4.

For more on this story, read Wednesday's Daily Inter Lake.