Doug Gerber officially takes over as Shawnee City Manager next week, taking the oath of office during the regularly scheduled Shawnee City Council meeting on Monday.
Gerber previously served as a deputy and interim city manager in Topeka. Before that, he also held high-level leadership positions in Goodland and Beloit, Kan., and most recently worked with JEO Consulting Group.
Through an open records request, the Post obtained a copy of Gerber’s employment contract, which the city council approved along with his hiring in February.
Here’s a look at what it says, his job responsibilities and his annual starting salary:
What does a city manager do?
- In the city manager and city council style government most Johnson County cities use, the city manager serves as a CEO of sorts, managing the day-to-day business at the discretion of the city council.
- A city manager, per Shawnee’s charter, is responsible for the enforcement of the city’s codes, and each department reports to them. They’re also in charge of hiring decisions for director-level positions and other roles in the city administration in accordance with the budget.
- One of the primary roles of a city manager is to put up a budget for their city each year that the council will consider. Most budgets go through extensive preparation and public discussion before adoption.
- The role of city manager sometimes comes with odd hours, as the city manager may be expected at a number of community events and the biweekly city council meetings, which take place in the evenings.
Gerber will be paid $190K, plus some allowances
- That comes with the option for a yearly raise of 3% in years the budget allows.
- He will also receive $6,000 a year for city-related transportation, which may go up annually. It will be paid out throughout the year at the same time his paychecks are sent.
- Shawnee will also pay $31 per pay period, or $806 in a year, for a cell phone allowance.
- The city will contribute 4% of Gerber’s salary to a deferred compensation plan, which serves as a retirement plan for city employees.
- From day one, Gerber will be eligible for the equivalent of 15 vacation days and five days for sick leave.
Gerber will have to live in Shawnee
- Shawnee requires many of its high-ranking non-elected officials to live within the city limits, including the city manager.
- Gerber is currently a resident of Silver Lake, outside Topeka, and has 12 months to establish residency in Shawnee from his first day on the job, according to his contract.
- That means he must have a permanent residence in Shawnee by March 27, 2024, communications manager Julie Breithaupt told the Post.
- Breithaupt was unable to confirm whether Gerber had already established residency in Shawnee.
- The city will also “pay up to $10,000 for relocation expenses,” per his contract.
The city manager reports directly to the council
- Formally, the city manager is the only employee that reports directly to the city council.
- As a personnel issue, Gerber’s performance reviews will be conducted in closed-door executive sessions.
- That means the community won’t be able to hear the council’s “evaluation, opinion or discussion” of his job performance, which is fairly standard.
- Decisions to terminate him, with or without cause, could also be considered personnel decisions.
- Termination without cause would require the city to pay a lump sum in cash six months worth of his salary.
Read Gerber’s contract below:
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