She was fired and then rehired as the Menomonee Falls BID director only to resign a month later over her salary
Just a few weeks after Business Improvement District Director Felicia Reichard was reinstated to her position as BID director, she announced her resignation on her personal Facebook page.
She said her last day would be Dec. 30.
She said she decided to step down because of inadequate compensation for the position.
The BID committee reinstated Reichard as BID director Nov. 29 after she was fired from Menomonee Falls Downtown Inc. on Nov. 10. The BID had a closed meeting on Dec. 21 to "discuss the employment, compensation, and performance of Felicia Reichard."
"Thank you for the overwhelming outpouring of support and love this last month and a half. Words can’t begin to express how much it means to me. ... I hoped and prayed the outcome would be different but there is no way I could accept what was offered," she wrote in a Dec. 22 post on her Facebook page.
Reichard said in an interview that the pay cut was "significant" compared to what she was getting paid previously and that the "title was downgraded to BID manager from BID director."
"The job was different in that I wouldn't be programming Village Park; however, there was a list of duties and events that had been new in 2021 and 2022," she said.
"The point is if someone exceeds expectations in their position you don't fire them and try to rehire them with less pay and expect the same level of performance.
"I am proud I was able to take the downtown to a level it has never been at despite the hostile and toxic environment I was forced to work in the last six months. Thankfully, it didn't affect my work performance," Reichard said.
Reichard worked to develop downtown programs in Menomonee Falls since September 2019, with both MFDI and the BID.
The MFDI Board on Nov. 10 unanimously voted to fire Reichard. MFDI President Chris Leffler declined to comment on the reasons for Reichard's termination except to say it was "complicated." Reichard said she received no reason for the termination except it was "a directive from the board."
When the BID voted to reinstate Reichard, Village Manager Mark Fitzgerald said the BID and MFDI would each continue to exist moving forward, each with its own director. He said that Reichard had been doing the work of two positions.
He said MFDI would take care of downtown events, while the BID director would take on the "business development side" of the downtown.
Fitzgerald did not address Reichard's resignation in a Dec. 23 email exchange with a reporter. He said there is a meeting tentatively scheduled for Dec. 29 to discuss the next steps and how to proceed with the BID manager opening. He said the agenda would be posted on the village website, www.menomonee-falls.org, on Dec. 28.
However, he provided a copy of the BID manager position description that listed compensation as $52,000 base pay, and a $5,000 healthcare stipend per year, paid monthly.
Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kozlowicz_cathy.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Menomonee Falls BID Director Felicia Reichard resigns over salary
