Salary talks ongoing with city manager pick

Salary negotiations with Polson’s pick for city manager are ongoing nearly a month after the City Commission voted to begin contract talks.

Earlier in August, Mayor Paul Briney opened negotiations with Ed Meece, who the City Commission selected in July to fill the city manager vacancy. Meece currently is employed as Bozeman’s parking program manager and is the former city manager for Livingston.

Briney said that while he made headway in the initial negotiation process, “It was cumbersome. It was time consuming.” He also discovered that it was the City Commission’s responsibility, not the mayor’s.

In response to those concerns, the City Commission voted Aug. 17 to form an ad-hoc committee to continue the negotiation process.

The city initially offered Meece a one-year contract at a salary of $84,000. Meece countered that a higher salary would be required. He noted that a $93,000 contract was offered for the Polson city manager position in 2018.

“To accept an amount significantly less than $93,000 devalues the position of City Manger in the organization and does not adequately recognize my 30 years of local government experience.”

Meece also took issue with the short one-year term.

“Accepting the position of City Manager if a life changing experience for my family, it requires terminating our current employment, selling out home, renting/buying a new home, and moving to a new community. To do all of this, with a promise of only 12 months employment seems a rather one-sided commitment,” Meece stated in his counter offer.

He added that a one-year commitment, “implies a lack of confidence” in the candidate “and an ambiguous commitment to the employment relationship.”

Meece’s counter offer requested a one-year contract with a salary of $84,000 plus $1,600 in housing allowance and six months severance; or a two-year contract at $90,000 plus six months severance.

The Polson city manager is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the city, working under the policy guidance the City Commission. Polson has 43 full-time non-unionized employees who ultimately report to the city manager.

Polson Police Chief Wade Nash has been leading the city as interim city manager since former city manager Mark Shrives stepped down in October 2018.