OCEAN CITY -- Former City Manager Dennis Dare and Ocean City Town Council have come to terms on a severance package that will allow him to collect a full salary and generous benefits through March of 2012.
Since Dare's Sept. 9 resignation at the behest of a 4-3 council vote, he has received full pay in accordance with his pay rate at the time, which was set at slightly less than $173,500 a year.
From April 1-Oct. 31, the town will pay Dare based on joint and survivor pension benefits that will equal out to $6,665 a month.
Then at the end of October, Dare will be eligible for unreduced pension benefits based on 30 years of employment with the town. Dare became city manager on April 1, 1990, and served as city engineer for about 10 years before that promotion. According to the agreement, the town deems the offered package "generous, fair and reasonable."
The town will likely hire a new city manager before Dare's pension kicks in. Councilwoman Mary Knight said council has been told a new manager could be put in place somewhere around April 1, and she said she anticipates a low-end starting salary of about $130,000, not including benefits. If this happens, the town will essentially be paying two people to fill one position.
"That's a very expensive undertaking," said Councilman Doug Cymek.
Before Dare's pension kicks in, he will be paid by the town about $133,000 for a period in which he has not reported to City Hall. Added to this will be the payment of 397 vacation hours, 16 personal hours and five holiday hours that Dare accrued but did not use.
"As they say, the devil is in the details, and we spent quite a bit of time investigating how to fulfill the promise," Dare said, referring to the contract that was in effect at the time of his resignation. If things had been worked out differently, he said, the town could have ended up parting ways with as much as four to five times the amount they will provide him.
"I think we found the most economical and most responsible way," Dare said in a phone interview on Friday. He and his wife were en route to "a little getaway," he said, something he'd been looking forward to but had been unable to act on since he'd been "buckled down" dealing with the agreement for the past three months or so.
Jim Hall, Joe Hall, Brent Ashley and Margaret Pillas voted in September to ask Dare for his resignation, and Lloyd Martin, Knight and Cymek voted against it. Those three, along with Mayor Rick Meehan, who is serving also as interim city manager, have been adamant in their opinion Dare should not have been forced out.
In a closed session on Tuesday, council voted 5-2 to approve the severance package, with Ashley and Pillas as the dissenting votes. The arrangement was first reported Friday by the Maryland Coast Dispatch.
"I fully appreciate the five councilmembers that voted on this agreement, and for keeping their promise," Dare said.
Ashley confirmed his vote, but said he was not happy it had been made public. He said also he couldn't comment on the reasons for his vote. "A closed session is supposed to be confidential," Ashley said.
Dare plans on staying in Ocean City and doesn't see himself pursuing another city manager job. He's been enjoying retirement, he says, and doesn't think he wants to relocate and pledge years of work to another municipality.
"You have to understand that for the last 21 years, I've been on call every day all day, and I've gotta say, these last three months have been great. It's been really wonderful leaving all that stress behind," he said. "Of course, I have one more year before I hit the magic 30 years, and you know, I intended to work through that, but it looks like I got there a year early."
Dare, who recently turned 63, said he is looking forward to an opportunity to spend more time with his family and neighbors. He was recently elected president of the Caine Woods Community Association.
If he ever gets bored, he can always hit the links. One facet of his agreement is free rounds of golf for life at Eagle's Landing.
"Ocean City is a great place to live," he said, "and a lot of people tell me it's a great place to retire."
smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14
Since Dare's Sept. 9 resignation at the behest of a 4-3 council vote, he has received full pay in accordance with his pay rate at the time, which was set at slightly less than $173,500 a year.
From April 1-Oct. 31, the town will pay Dare based on joint and survivor pension benefits that will equal out to $6,665 a month.
Then at the end of October, Dare will be eligible for unreduced pension benefits based on 30 years of employment with the town. Dare became city manager on April 1, 1990, and served as city engineer for about 10 years before that promotion. According to the agreement, the town deems the offered package "generous, fair and reasonable."
The town will likely hire a new city manager before Dare's pension kicks in. Councilwoman Mary Knight said council has been told a new manager could be put in place somewhere around April 1, and she said she anticipates a low-end starting salary of about $130,000, not including benefits. If this happens, the town will essentially be paying two people to fill one position.
"That's a very expensive undertaking," said Councilman Doug Cymek.
Before Dare's pension kicks in, he will be paid by the town about $133,000 for a period in which he has not reported to City Hall. Added to this will be the payment of 397 vacation hours, 16 personal hours and five holiday hours that Dare accrued but did not use.
"As they say, the devil is in the details, and we spent quite a bit of time investigating how to fulfill the promise," Dare said, referring to the contract that was in effect at the time of his resignation. If things had been worked out differently, he said, the town could have ended up parting ways with as much as four to five times the amount they will provide him.
"I think we found the most economical and most responsible way," Dare said in a phone interview on Friday. He and his wife were en route to "a little getaway," he said, something he'd been looking forward to but had been unable to act on since he'd been "buckled down" dealing with the agreement for the past three months or so.
Jim Hall, Joe Hall, Brent Ashley and Margaret Pillas voted in September to ask Dare for his resignation, and Lloyd Martin, Knight and Cymek voted against it. Those three, along with Mayor Rick Meehan, who is serving also as interim city manager, have been adamant in their opinion Dare should not have been forced out.
In a closed session on Tuesday, council voted 5-2 to approve the severance package, with Ashley and Pillas as the dissenting votes. The arrangement was first reported Friday by the Maryland Coast Dispatch.
"I fully appreciate the five councilmembers that voted on this agreement, and for keeping their promise," Dare said.
Ashley confirmed his vote, but said he was not happy it had been made public. He said also he couldn't comment on the reasons for his vote. "A closed session is supposed to be confidential," Ashley said.
Dare plans on staying in Ocean City and doesn't see himself pursuing another city manager job. He's been enjoying retirement, he says, and doesn't think he wants to relocate and pledge years of work to another municipality.
"You have to understand that for the last 21 years, I've been on call every day all day, and I've gotta say, these last three months have been great. It's been really wonderful leaving all that stress behind," he said. "Of course, I have one more year before I hit the magic 30 years, and you know, I intended to work through that, but it looks like I got there a year early."
Dare, who recently turned 63, said he is looking forward to an opportunity to spend more time with his family and neighbors. He was recently elected president of the Caine Woods Community Association.
If he ever gets bored, he can always hit the links. One facet of his agreement is free rounds of golf for life at Eagle's Landing.
"Ocean City is a great place to live," he said, "and a lot of people tell me it's a great place to retire."
smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14
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