Manager will make $105,000 each year

Kalispell on Thursday released the contract terms offered to newly hired City Manager Doug Russell, who has a tentative starting date of June 18, 2012.

The Kalispell City Council gave contract parameters to Mayor Tammi Fisher and City Attorney and Interim City Manager Charles Harball, who negotiated to hire Russell.

The employment agreement offers Russell:

 A $105,000 annual salary with no bonus alternatives;

 A 12 percent city contribution to the International City Management Association Retirement Corporation in lieu of the Public Employees’ Retirement System;

 A $400 monthly vehicle allowance;

 100 percent paid health insurance for Russell and his family;

 Up to a $20,000 loan for relocation costs, with the city forgiving 1/52 of the debt for each full pay period Russell is employed by the city;

 Six months’ salary severance and a payout of all accrued sick leave and vacation in the event of termination without just cause;

 A 15-day vacation leave credit and accrual of sick and vacation leave at the rate given to employees who have been with the city for 16 years;

 Annual cost-of-living adjustments at the average increase afforded to other city employees.

Russell, who is 38, is presently working as a city manager in Yankton, S.D. It’s a position he has held since mid-2008.

Russell was one of 44 applicants and three finalists for the city manager job in Kalispell. He will replace Jane Howington, who resigned as Kalispell city manager in January to take a job in Newport, R.I.

The proposed employee agreement, signed by Russell, goes before the Kalispell City Council for approval on Monday.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.