County Manager Pay Is Outlined

By Tammy Gray-Searles
   Including vehicle and cell phone stipends, Navajo County Manager Jimmy Jayne’s annual pay totals $159,662 under a contract approved Jan. 26 by the board of supervisors.
   That total includes base pay of $148,118, a vehicle stipend of $850 per month, or $10,200 annually, and a cell phone stipend of $112 per month, or $1,344 annually. It does not include, however, a voluntary 2.5 percent reduction in base salary.
   Jayne told the board in the Jan. 26 meeting that he intended to continue voluntarily taking the decrease as long as it was in effect for all other county employees. The decrease totals $3,703, and leaves Jayne with an annual base salary of $144,415, or a total of $155,959 with stipends.
   In comparison, in Pinal County the manager receives a base salary of $172,982, and in Maricopa County, $227,198. Pinal County’s estimated population as of 2008 was 327,301, Maricopa County’s was 3.95 million, and Navajo County’s was 112,757.
   Jayne’s contract, which was renewed for two years, indicates that his base salary is $134,348, but after a brief discussion, Jayne and the board agreed not to change the figures in the contract, but to continue with a separately-agreed upon amount ($144,415). Jayne told the board the amount is the same as last year, and will continue to include the 2.5 percent decrease.
   According to Human Resources Director Gail Calisen, Jayne’s health and retirement benefits remain the same and “are no different than any other employee.” She also noted that he “does not claim any donation or contribution to the county.” County Attorney Brad Carlyon had remarked during contract discussions that a possibility existed for Jayne to reduce his tax liability by claiming a donation to the county if the 2.5 percent reduction in pay was not reflected in his contract.
   The remainder of the contract remains the same as the previous year, and includes a provision for payment of professional expenses, such as travel to conferences and dues to professional organizations. It also requires an affirmative vote of 75 percent of the members of the board to terminate him from the position, and requires six months severance pay if he is terminated without cause.
   During the Jan. 26 meeting, the board also reviewed Jayne’s performance in executive session using a self-evaluation completed by Jayne as well as a 360-degree evaluation form filled out by both county employees and professionals outside the county, such as other county managers.
   The results of the 360-degree evaluation were mainly positive, with some small criticisms regarding communication, “micro-managing” and considering employee input when making decisions. Jayne received praise for his efforts to keep the budget balanced and keeping staff apprised of budget developments.
   Questions presented in the evaluation offered respondents choices such as “never,” “sometimes,” “usually” and “always,” with “always,” being the most positive response available. In the internal review, the majority of respondents chose “always” in 31 of 35 questions. Questions which did not receive a majority of “always” responses included:
   * Helps employees embrace change through proactive communications.
   * Identifies performance gaps and improvement opportunities for business processes throughout the organization.
   * Gathers potential solutions from employees to solve work process and procedure problems.
   * Utilizes concrete, measurable performance measures in evaluating staff and programs in the county.
   Most positive written evaluation comments from the internal survey focused on the budget. Respondents wrote that Jayne’s strengths included, “leadership strengths shown during difficult financial hardships,” and “working very hard to minimize problems due to budget crisis.”
   Criticisms focused on communication with lower level employees and consistency. In areas that need most improvement, some respondents wrote, “make certain that the assistant county manager and you are giving the same/similar answers to people,” “engage key staff in decision making process” and “less micro-managing.”
   In the external survey, Jayne received even higher marks, with the majority of participants choosing “always” for all questions. External respondents praised Jayne for staying focused during the budget crisis and cooperating well with other agencies. External responders also asked that Jayne place more focus on local governments within the county, such as towns and cities, as well as attending more local meetings.
   Comments regarding strengths and accomplishments included, “making tough decisions in an economic downturn,” and “When others in similar positions in other counties are reactive, Jimmy is productive.”
   Comments regarding areas for improvement, included, “It would be worthwhile for the county manager to meet with the various city and town managers on a regular basis just to make sure we are all working together,” and “timely response to local government contacts.”
   The supervisors conducted their evaluation orally in executive session.