Newport Council to Vote on $178,000 Salary in Contract for City Manager

NEWPORT, RI—The Newport City Council has a scheduled vote to approve a three-year employment contract for City Manager Joseph Nicholson Jr. that would pay him $178,000 per year, provide a $400 monthly car allowance and other benefits through 2019.

The contract is on the City Council's agenda for its monthly business meeting next week and would finalize their decision in February to appoint Nicholson as the city's full-time manager.

The city's longtime City Solicitor, Nicholson was named Acting City Manager in 2014 after his successor, Jane Howington, left for a job in another state.

After a protracted and fruitless search process that dragged on for nearly two years, the city settled on Nicholson based on his institutional knowledge, prior involvement in myriad city issues and his performance during his repeatedly-extended interim manager status.

It took fifteen months between the time Nicholson was appointed acting manager to the time the first search round wrapped up with the City Council unimpressed with the final slate of candidates produced by a search firm paid $25,000.

A second search was launched using in-house resources and that effort concluded with the council opting to stick with Nicholson.

A copy of the contract obtained by the Patch shows that Nicholson will receive the same health insurance benefits as other city employees, 25 days or 200 hours of vacation time each year and 30 days or 240 hours of sick leave. Vacation and sick time will not accrue from year to year.

If Nicholson is fired for any reason other than for a criminal conviction or other "illegal act involving personal gain, misfeasance or malfeasance," Nicholson will be paid six months of salary in a lump-sum cash payment and his health and dental coverage will be covered for six months beyond the termination date.

The contract also gives Nicholson the right to pursue opportunities for professional development, to teach or for outside consulting work within limits as long as they don't interfere with city obligations. The provision is typical of executive-level municipal employment contracts. In this contract, the reasoning is explained: "Recognizing that other outside consulting or teaching opportunities provide indirect benefits to the employer and the community . . ."

The City Council is set to vote on the contract on Wednesday.

Nicholson has been paid a salary of $144,000 as he served as acting manager.