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Board members of the Cameron Park Community Services District are in the process of renegotiating the contract of General Manager Mary Cahill. The current contract expires Sept. 30.
Cahill has served as general manager since October 2011. When hired she was paid $85,500. In April she received a raise, with her salary now being $90,000 a year.
Her current contract calls for the district to pay 4 percent of her yearly salary to PERS or $3,600. Cahill pays an additional 3 percent.
The district pays all the premiums for her health, dental and vision insurance and pays her a monthly stipend of $350 for travel and cell phone reimbursement. There is also reimbursement available for travel to conferences and other job related events.
In addition, each year she receives 10 days of vacation, 12 days of sick leave, 16 paid holidays, 10 days of administrative leave, as well as time off for jury duty and bereavement.
Board President Shiva Frentzen said at the closed session of this month’s board meeting she had made a motion to renew the GM’s contract on a month-to-month basis. She also wanted Cahill’s contract linked it to the financial performance of the district. However, the motion failed due to a lack of a second.
Another motion by board member Sean Tucker and seconded by Alan Clarke to extend Cahill’s contract was approved. Frentzen said a subcommittee of Greg Stanton and Alan Clarke is now in the process of negotiating the terms of the new contract.
According to Frentzen, a special closed session is scheduled for Aug. 28 to discuss the status of the contract negotiations.
Contact Dawn Hodson at 530-344-5071 or dhodson@mtdemocrat.net. Follow @DHodsonMtDemo on Twitter.
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Jim RiordanAugust 23, 2012 - 3:17 pm
With respect to the Renewal of Cahill's contract I agree 100% with Shiva that it should be month-to month and performance based. . . . I urge the board to review these easily found articles on Cahill's previous employments which to me were quite telling . . . .credits are shown for the authors. Have any of you board members done ANY DUE DILIGENCE research on cahill? Here are a couple of articles from the web that should have gotten your attention if you had done ANY research. Remember, the taxpayers are paying you for DUE DILIGENCE . . .these should have gotten your attention, but obviously did not, making some taxpayers irate. . . . . .9/15/2005 Source: The other side: Mary Cahill, who was terminated Sept. 6 as general manager of the Chico Area Recreation District, took issue with CARD board and media characterizations of her parting. While a press release issued by CARD attorney Jeff Carter stated Cahill was “terminated … without cause,” Cahill said she left by “mutual agreement” after much discussion over a period of time. She was given $100,000 in severance pay as required by her contract. “I was not fired,” Cahill said. “It was a discussion and it was definitely both-sided. … It makes it look like I did something wrong when I didn’t,” she added. . . . . . Source: Author: ROGER H. AYLWORTH - Staff Writer Date: September 7, 2005 Publication: Chico Enterprise-Record (Chico, CA) Article ID: 3006733 Mary Cahill, general manager of the Chico Area Recreation and Park District, was "terminated" Tuesday after a closed-door meeting of the district's Board of Directors. A brief press release issued through CARD's attorney Jeff Carter said Cahill had been fired "without cause." In the same press release, Jan Sneed, chair of the Board of Directors, said the general manager was fired "without cause. . . . . . Source: FROM THE NAPA REGISTER September 11, 2008 12:00 am (0) Comments Mary Cahill is leaving Calistoga, without explanation, after only eight months in a newly-created, roughly $100,000-a-year job that focused mostly on running the city’s long-anticipated public swimming pool. Her departure, which will be effective Oct. 15, may come as a shock to pool advocates who have worked tirelessly for years and now, finally, are within sight of a completed project. But, at least for the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a need to panic. Cahill has laid the groundwork for someone else to take over the planning for the pool and see it through to the scheduled opening in mid-May of next year. Last week she delivered to the city council a detailed report and preliminary budget showing how it would work. The city now must move expeditiously to fill the void that will come after Oct. 15. During her short tenure in Calistoga, Cahill established herself as a competent administrator, but she was faulted for failing to build rapport with community groups. The lingering question is how much of that failure can be traced directly to Cahill and how much is linked to the hodgepodge of unrelated tasks that she was assigned to do. Although the public perception was that she was hired to organize and oversee the pool operation, she also was placed in charge of a jumble of other programs including the Sharpsteen Museum, the Handyvan transit, senior citizen activities, parks and recreation, and the city’s involvement in the public library. All of these programs were lumped together into a new department called Community Resources, with Cahill as the director. The City Council approved creating the new department, and council members knew that Cahill would have department head status in one of the city’s highest paid positions. But council members didn’t know — until word began to filter through the community — what Cahill was doing in addition to her work on the pool project. City Manager Jim McCann recently told The Weekly Calistogan editorial board that, unlike what happened when Cahill was hired, this time he will consult with the council about the responsibilities of her successor and how the new department should be organized. That is as it should be. Council members need to know who is in charge of city programs and who can be held accountable. They shouldn’t find it out from their constituents. McCann and the council have several options, including (1) replacing Cahill and keeping the department as it is now organized, unwieldy but perhaps still manageable; (2) replacing Cahill but taking away some of the programs that she supervised and moving them back to where they were before, run by other department heads; (3) abandoning the entire Community Resources Department and hiring only a full-time pool manager; and (4) abandoning the department and contracting for private operation of the pool. We can see the pool operating efficiently in various scenarios, but we would favor having a Calistoga-based employee who could take ownership of this new and exciting program and develop it to its full potential, in concert with the wishes of the citizens who will use it and pay for it. The primary goal now should be to maintain the momentum that Cahill has built so that the pool can open next spring without further delay. That means refining the preliminary operating budget and moving toward hiring the 30 part-time, seasonal employees who will be needed. In 2006 the city estimated that it would cost $195,000 to run the pool during its first year, but that figure now appears to have been off the mark. Cahill’s preliminary budget estimates that $593,300 will be needed to operate the pool next season and for the first six weeks of the following season. One-time start-up costs for the first year are one reason for the higher figure, but it’s now apparent that it will cost more to run and maintain the pool than officials originally estimated. Exactly how much more won’t be known until the pool has operated for at least a season and costs and revenue figures are in hand. Even at this early point in the process, one member of the city council — money watchdog Gary Kraus — is criticizing part of the budget. At last week’s council meeting, Kraus questioned whether the city would be able to hire the part-time pool employees for the estimated average wage of $13 per hour. Cahill’s report also noted the potential difficulty, pointing out that Calistoga is “a high-cost area with limited hiring or contracting opportunities.” Cahill’s departure leaves several unanswered questions — about the reasons for her leaving, and also about the swimming pool that will usher in a new spring season in Calistoga. . . .. . . . AGAIN, my question to you board members is why would any of you hire somone with such comments as "faulted for failing to build rapport with community groups." printed about her right out in the open for all to find? Why would you hire someone who had questionable relations with citizens? This appears to me just be the same old BS and you could have avoided it with a simple search. Why did you Board members do this to us? . . . . . If you do anything now other than a month-to month renewal, it is my opinion that will be making this decision AFTER being informed of these previous employment "ISSUES" and may be opening a can of worms for yourselves. I hope you get your act together before you bury us in debt. DO NOT FORGET TO SHARE WITH CITIZENS THAT THE FIRE BUDGET ALLEGEDLY JUST CAME IN $100,000 LESS< SO YOU ARE MUCH DEEPER IN DEBT NOW THAN YOU WERE JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO WHEN THE PREVIOUS DEFICITS WERE CALCULATED . . . YOU DO KNOW THAT, RIGHT?? YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION RIGHT??
QuestionsAugust 24, 2012 - 7:44 am
A total of 32 paid days off plus 16 holidays. Really? That is over two working months (21 days) per year. Really? Is there accrual and rollover, as well? Gross of $7500/mo is probably somewhere around $4800/mo take home plus benefits. Good grief. Where should I apply?
Really???August 24, 2012 - 8:14 am
Where is Joe Harn when you need him???
Get a lifeAugust 25, 2012 - 8:12 am
Jim Riordan, Dave Gelber, Bill Carey, Gerald Lillpop, Barbara Rogers...you small, insignificant malcontents, are a disgusting blemish on the community of Cameton Park. Eventually you will realize the carnival has left town and your collective lives will again be without purpose.
Jim RiordanAugust 25, 2012 - 1:52 pm
Dear Get a life . . Whomever you really are, At least I, 1) Have a great life with no people like you in it, 2)Don't hide under a rock with a phony name, 3) Don't have any idea what your gibberish about a "carnival leaving town" has to do with anything and Lastly, I AM able to correctly spell the name of my community which seems to be beyond the capability of your skillset. Perhaps you should have someone with brains write your next diatribe for you.Good day!
Ken SteersAugust 26, 2012 - 8:44 am
Jim, Most posting sites for newspapers require a pseudonym to be used. The reasoning is security. Some of us, for what ever reason, have decided long ago to not be afraid of ghost and shadows in the dark. Or we are narcissistic enough to enjoy seeing our names in the paper. What ever. I must say that I have enjoyed reading about this "gang of 5" over the past couple of years. I might not understand some of the antics but wholeheartedly support your 1st amendment rights of free speech and protest. For I believe that without community oversight from it's members, a board would be left to it's own devices. I would like to see you, as a group demand a one on one meeting with the board to discuss a resolution regarding Ms Cahill's employment with our community. Flex your muscle.
Jim RiordanAugust 26, 2012 - 12:02 pm
Thanks Ken. While I know all the players, I do not attend the meetings since the Board has long ago stopped listening to any constructive suggestions, and why go just to get angry?? I am not part of any Group, gang, or whatever. I do agree in many cases with what the attendees have to say though.