SAFFORD — The Safford City Council plans to discuss the employment status of the city manager, including possible termination.
On Thursday, the city released the agenda for the council’s next meeting, which will take place Monday, Dec. 8, at 6 p.m., in the Safford Library’s programming room.
The final two items on the agenda are an executive session — which is closed to the public — to discuss the city manager’s employment, and the reconvene into a public meeting to discuss a “vote of no confidence and/or discussion and possible action regarding the employment status of the city manager, including possible termination.”
Prior to the release of the agenda, no members of council have publically expressed dissatisfaction in the job performance of City Manager John Cassella; however Vice Mayor Arnold Lopez did question the need for Safford ID cards, and the purchasing of the machines to produce the cards before council approval, during the Nov. 10 City Council meeting.
In September, the City Council finalized its annual performance evaluation of Cassella and voted 4-3 to increase his annual salary to $190,000 per year, as well as contribute $500 each month on Cassella’s behalf to the city’s deferred compensation plan.
The council also approved a severance package that includes 12 months of salary and 12 months of health insurance coverage in the event Cassella is terminated without cause. And that Cassella could not be terminated without cause for the first six months after election of a new City Council.
Opposing the compensation package in the September vote was Lopez and Council Members Dusti Brantner and Alma Flores.
