Employment Agreement
Calhoun County Administrator/Controller
This Agreement is entered into this1stday of September, 2011 by and between the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners, (hereinafter referred to as “Employer”), whose address is 315 W. Green Street, Marshall, Michigan 49068, and Kelli D. Scott (hereinafter referred to as “Employee”),
WHEREAS, the Employer wishes to employ the services of Employee as set forth below and to enter into an employment agreement with Employee as provided by MCL §46.11(o); and
WHEREAS, it is to the advantage of both the Employer and the Employee to specify the conditions under which Employee is to work and to be compensated; and
WHEREAS, it is the desire of the Employer to (1) secure and retain the services of Employee and to provide inducement for her to remain in such employment, (2) to make possible full work productivity by assuring Employee’s future security, (3) to provide adequate compensation for Employee, (4) to provide just means for terminating Employee’s services if she is unable to fully discharge her duties or when the County may otherwise desire to terminate her employment; and
WHEREAS, the Employee is willing to accept employment on the following terms and conditions,
NOW, THEREFORE, it is mutually agreed by the parties as follows:
SECTION 1. EMPLOYMENT
1.01The Employer agrees to employ Employee and Employee accepts employment as the Administrator for Calhoun County, Michigan to perform all of the functions and duties specified by law and other legally permissible and proper duties and functions as the Employer shall from time to time assign by resolution. In addition to employing Employee as Administrator, by the resolution approving this Employment Agreement Employer has pursuant to MCL §46.13b, as amended, appointed Employee County Controller with the duties and powers specified in that statute. Employee shall also serve as the chief administrative officer of Calhoun County for purposes of the Uniform Budgeting and Accounting Act (MCL §141.421a et seq.) and shall, in addition to the duties and functions set forth above, shall have the additional duties and functions as set forth in that statute. Additionally, by the resolution approving this Employment Agreement, Employer has appointed Employee as the Chief Executive Official of Calhoun County for purposes of the Emergency Management Act, MCL §30.401 et seq.,as amended. Employee’s job title shall be “Administrator/Controller”.
1.02Employee agrees to carry out the statutory duties as referenced in paragraph 1.01 above and further agrees to facilitate, recommend and implement policies adopted by resolution of the Employer relating to general administration of Calhoun County, including without limitation, budget and financial management, employer relations and labor negotiations, facilities and equipment management and other internal services. Employee shall have such other duties and powers as Employer may delegate to her from time to time by resolution. From time to time, Employer and Employee shall define the goals and performance objectives which they determine necessary for the proper operation of the County and in attainment of Employer’s policy objectives and shall further establish a relative priority among those various goals and objectives, said goals and objectives to be in writing.
1.03Employeeshall devote her full-time attention to her duties as Administrator/Controller, and shall not be employed on a regular basis in any other business or calling during the term of this Agreement unless prior approval is obtained from the Employer.
SECTION 2. TERM
2.01This Agreement shall commence on September 1, 2011, and shall remain in effect through midnight on August 31, 2014,unless otherwise terminated in accordance with Section 4 of the Agreement.
SECTION 3. COMPENSATION
3.01BASE SALARY. For services rendered during the term of this Agreement, Employer shall pay Employee a base salary as follows: for the period of September 1, 2011 – August 31, 2012, One Hundred Nine Thousand Five Hundred and 00/100 Dollars ($109,500.00). For the period of September 1, 2012 – August 31, 2013, Employer shall pay the then current base salary, plus an amount equal to one percent (1%) less than the average of the step increases in effect for all union and non-union County employees as of September 1, 2012 which shall become the base salary for 2012 – 2013. For the period of September 1, 2013 – August 31, 2014, Employer shall pay the then current base salary plus an amount equal to one percent (1%) less than the average of the step increases in effect for all union and non-union County employees as of September 1, 2013. The average step increases shall be determined, as necessary, by the Human Resources/Labor Relations Director. Employee shall be paid in the same manner and intervals as other County employees. The salary shall be subject to payroll deductions required by law or requested by Employee and determined to be available and proper.
3.02AUTOMOBILE ALLOWANCE. Employee shall receive an allowance equivalent to that provided to other County employees to cover the cost of acquiring, insuring, operating, storing and maintaining an automobile appropriate for use in conducting County business. The allowance will be reported as compensation for tax purposes.
3.03GENERAL BENEFITS. Except as otherwise and specifically provided for herein, Employee shall be entitled to such benefits provided to non-union employees of Calhoun County as provided by County policy. Such benefits shall include, but not be limited to: holidays, longevity pay (determined as of the date of Employee’s first being employed by Employer), medical, dental, optical, and sickness and accident (short-term disability) insurance. In addition, Employee shall be entitled to group term life insurance coverage at Employer’s cost in the amount of One Hundred Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($100,000.00) during the term of this Agreement.
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3.04PAID TIME OFF. Employee shall retain all paid time off which she has accrued as of the beginning date of this Agreement and during the term of this AgreementEmployee shall accrue two hundred twenty four (224)hours of paid time off per year which will be credited to her annually on her anniversary date.
3.05DUES AND EXPENSES. Employer agrees to pay for Employee’s membership in such professional associations (including attendance at regular and special board meetings, training, and travel expenses) asGovernment Finance Officers Association (GFOA), Michigan Public Employers Labor Relations Association (MPELRA), International County Managers Association (ICMA), National County Managers Association (NACA), and Michigan Association of County Administrative Officers (MACAO), and such other conferences and meetings as Employee and Employer mutually agree are beneficial to both the Employer and Employee, subject to the availability of funds for such expenses. Actual and necessary expenses incurred by Employee in the discharge of her official duties or in the performance of functions authorized by Employer shall be reimbursed upon submission of receipts and reports of expenditures in accordance with County policy.
3.06CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS. Employer encourages membership of Employee in local civic organizations and in executing civic responsibilities. Employer shall payall membership dues and reasonable expenses incurred by Employee relative to her membership in membership in one local service or civic organization and such other such organization(s) as shall be mutually agreed upon by the parties.
3.07INDEMNIFICATION. Employee shall be indemnified by Employer against any and all such claims and liabilities to which she has or shall become subject by reason of serving or having served as an employee of the County, or by reason of any action alleged to have been taken, omitted, or neglected by her as such employee which occurred in the course of her employment within the scope of her authority. Employer shall provide legal representation for Employee for legal expenses reasonably incurred in connection with any such claim or liability, however, no such indemnification or reimbursement shall be made in connection with any claim or liability arising out of Employee’s willful misconduct or gross negligence. The amount so paid by way of indemnification shall not exceed actual, reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the matter involved.
3.08PERFORMANCE EVALUATION. Employer shall review and evaluate the performance of Employee in accordance with Board of Commissioners Policy Statement No. 310, except that the evaluation shall be in the form approved, from time to time, by the Employer. Employee may request, pursuant to MCL §15.268(a), that the consideration of her personnel performance evaluation be held in a closed hearing.
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3.09RETIREMENT. During the term of this Agreement, the Employer agrees to make a contribution to a Section 457 Deferred Compensation plan in an amount equal to Nine Percent (9%) of Employee’s base annual salary. The payments shall be made in the amount of 1/26th of the annualized 457 contribution each pay period. If Employee leaves County employment for any reason prior to the termination of this Agreement, Employee shall only be entitled to that portion of the payment earned up to and including the date of termination. Employer agrees to transfer ownership of the retirement plan interests to any succeeding employer or other entity so designated in writing by the Employee upon her resignation or termination.
SECTION 4. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT
4.01It is understood and agreed Employee serves at the pleasure of the Employer as permitted by MCL §46.11(o) and MCL §46.13b. Employee may be removed only by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners elected to office at a meeting which is duly noticed and to which Commission members and the Employee are provided notice that the agenda will include a proposal to terminate the employment of Employee.
4.02While Employee serves at the pleasure of Employer and her employment can be terminated at any time as specified in paragraph 4.01, Employer may specify, at the time of termination, that the termination is for “cause” (as defined below). “Cause” shall be defined to include, but not limited to, the following:
1. Employee’s dishonesty, theft, or breach of fiduciary duty related in any way to her employment.
2.Employee’s conviction of any felony.
3. Employee’s breach of the ICMA Code of Ethics or her breach of other laws, rules or regulations related to her job duties and functions.
4.Employee’s failure to perform her employment duties (as described in Section 1 of this Agreement) promptly and in a manner satisfactory to the Employer, provided that the Employer shall give Employee written notice of the performance deficiencies and specific details, and shall give Employee at least sixty (60) calendar days within which to cure such deficiencies before termination.
Employer shall make a determination of cause in open session and a resolution by Employer regarding the same shall require a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the elected Commissioners at a duly noticed meeting at which the agenda shall contain notice that the issue of determining whether cause exists for termination will be considered by the Employer. Employee shall be entitled to request a closed session relative to any such determination to the extent provided by MCL §15.268(a). Termination for cause shall be effective immediately upon adoption by Employer of an appropriate resolution, and Employee shall be entitled to no further compensation of any kind, other than previously accrued pay and benefits, after the effective date of termination.
4.03In the event of termination of this Agreement by Employer other than for cause, termination shall be effective at such date as may be specified by the Employer but Employee shall continue to receive her regular biweekly salary (calculated on the basis of her then current base salary) as severance payfor a period of twenty-six (26) weeks after the effective date of termination. Receipt of such severance pay shall not entitle Employee to participate in any benefits or benefit plan provided or sponsored by the County, except for medical and dental coverage. Employer will make all appropriate and required tax withholdings from any such severance pay.
4.04Employee may voluntarily terminate her employment under this Agreement at any time upon the giving of twelve (12) weeks advance notice to Employer. Such voluntary termination shall take effect on the last day of such twelve (12) week period, or sooner if mutually agreed upon. In the event that Employee voluntarily terminates her employments, she shall receive no severance payment.
4.05If Employee is determined by Employer to be incapacitated or disabled by accident, illness or otherwise so as to render her mentally or physically incapable of performing the services under this Agreement for a period of 180 consecutive days or longer (“disability”), Employee’s employment under this Agreement shall automatically terminate immediately upon Employer giving written notice to Employee of a resolution making such determination. During the period of any such disability, Employee shall be entitled to salary and benefit continuation and/or disability benefits in accordance with the policies and procedures as may be established and changed from time to time by the County. If Employee dies during the term of this Agreement, her employment hereunder shall be deemed to have terminated as of the date of death. In the event termination as the result of death or disability, Employee’s compensation shall end as of the effective date of termination and Employee, or her estate, shall be compensated for any accrued benefits under this Agreement or any applicable Employer policy.
4.06Employee agrees in the performance of her job duties not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions or privileges of employment, or any matter directly related to employment because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, marital status, or handicap that is unrelated to an individual’s ability to perform the duties of a particular job or position. Breach of this covenant may be regarded as a material breach of the contract.
SECTION 5. HEADINGS
5.01The headings of the Sections of this Agreement are for convenience only and shall not control or affect the meaning or construction or limit the scope or intent of any of the provisions of this Agreement.
SECTION 6. APPLICABLE LAW
6.01The Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Michigan.
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SECTION 7. NOTICES
7.01Any notice required or permitted to be given under this Agreement shall be deemed properly given if in writing and if delivered to the residence of the Employee as appearing on the records of the County, or to the principal office of the County, to the attention of the Chairperson.
SECTION 8. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
8.01This instrument contains the entire Agreement of the parties relating to the subject matter and may only be waived, changed, modified, extended or discharged by the parties’ written agreement. This Agreement abrogates and takes the place of all prior employment agreements and/or understandings that may have been made by the Employer except that Employee shall carry over any PTO accrued under any previous Employment Agreement and shall, when eligible to receive a longevity bonus, shall be entitled to receive the same as provided by County policy for non-union employees, based on the date of her initial employment by Employer.
SECTION 9. WAIVER OF BREACH
9.01The waiver by either party of a breach of any provision of this Agreement by the other party shall not operate nor be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach by such party.
SECTION 10. INVALIDITY
10.01If any provision if this Agreement is deemed by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable as written, such provision shall be reformed by the court to the extent, but only to such extent, as is necessary to make the provision enforceable. Any provision which cannot be so reformed shall be severable and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any other provision.
SECTION 11. BINDING AGREEMENT
11.01The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon, and shall inure to the benefit of, the parties hereto and their respective heirs or legal representatives.
Employer:
Dated:
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______Date: ______
Art Kale, Chair
Calhoun County Board of Commissioners
Employee:
______Date: ______
Kelli D. Scott
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