Renewal of the Oxford Village Police Chief Mike Neymanowski’s employment contract was tabled by council Tuesday after one official questioned the language concerning severance pay.
At issue is a portion of the proposed three-year contract which states Neymanowski is entitled to a lump sum severance pay if he’s terminated “with or without cause.”
“If someone is terminated for cause, why are they entitled to severance?” asked Councilwoman Renee Donovan. “If I get terminated at Meijer (her place of employment), I don’t even get unemployment.”
“If you terminate for cause, and the cause is viable and valid, why are you entitled to be paid?” the councilwoman said. “The punishment should be partially losing your pay.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but a police chief is in a little bit of a different position,” replied Manager Mark Slown. “It can be a very highly politically-charged position. I would just submit to you that you consider that it may not be the same as other situations. . .The people who serve in these positions are very exposed to public criticism on a number of fronts.”
The manager noted that because council has the authority to terminate the police chief directly, “he can be terminated for political reasons, which could be construed as cause in someone’s mind, but may or may not be in fact.”
President Steve Allen said Donovan made a “valid point.”
“There’s no private sector job that I can possibly think of that if you’re terminated for cause, you will get any severance package whatsoever,” Allen said. “I don’t get one at Ford (his place of employment). . .If I’m fired for performance issues or for stealing or for whatever reason that’s deemed in violation of my employment agreement, I get nothing.”
Allen said he believes the benefits of people who work for government have to be brought “in line” with the benefits received by workers in the private sector.
“I think we’ve gotten to the point that we have to start holding ourselves as accountable, maybe even more accountable,” Donovan said.
The councilwoman requested the contract renewal be postponed because the severance issue “needs to be looked at and seriously discussed.”
Donovan also asked why the proposed contract increased Neymanowski’s lump sum severance pay from 12 to 20 weeks worth of wages.
“It’s really a matter of consistency,” Slown said, noting his manager’s contract and the village police officers’ contract both contain a 20-week severance benefit.
Donovan made it clear that her questioning of the contract’s severance language had nothing to do with Neymanowski’s job performance as police chief.
“I can’t even comprehend a reason to terminate Chief Neymanowski for cause because I know the man,” Donovan said.
Allen asked if the $50,502 annual salary contained in the chief’s proposed contract language represented a pay increase.
Slown said no and noted that the police chief, DPW superintendent and himself all “volunteered” not to request pay raises due to the “serious financial situation” the state is in and the revenue-sharing cuts facing the village.