This is why politicians are regarded as crooked and paid excessively.
The outgoing Apopka mayor John Land approved huge severance pay exceeding
state guidelines one week before they were effective for nine employees
according to this Channel 9 story.
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/apopkas-cao-severance-pay-doubles-other-
cities-des/ngrHr/APOPKA, Fla. -
WFTV uncovered more details about generous contracts for Apopka city
employees.
In Mayor John Land's final hours in office he gave nine employees 20 weeks
of severance pay and the city's chief administrative officer signed off on
those contracts.
Channel 9's Lori Brown learned Richard Anderson, the city's CAO, has a deal
that provides two times the amount of severance pay the state allows.
The law limits severance pay to 20 weeks, but Anderson's contract guarantees
him 40 weeks.
The contract is legal because he signed it one week before the state's new
law went into effect.
If the city wanted to fire him, it would have to keep paying him $16,000 a
month for more than 10 months.
"Totally ridiculous, it's not the way city government should run," said
former mayoral candidate Gregg Phillips.
Mayor Joe Kilsheimer points out that Anderson's contract was drawn up under
longtime Mayor John Land.
Sanford, Winter Garden and Orange County
each offer 20 weeks or less of
severance.
Anderson recently recommended Kilsheimer receive a salary of $150,000, which
is nearly as much as Orange County
Mayor Teresa Jacobs, who
oversees a county with 30 times as many people as Apopka.
Combined, the two administrators' salaries are about double what other
similarly sized cities pay.
Anderson's contract lasts indefinitely and allows for the mayor to give him
a salary increase each year of up to 10 percent without any approval from
the City Council.
Anderson has been Apopka's administrator since 1974
Vance Jochim
[email protected]
YouTube Channel "FiscalRangersFlorida"