Heise a candidate for city administrator role in Wisconsin
SAUGATUCK — Former Saugatuck City Manager Ryan Heise is one of five finalists for the city administrator position in Hudson, Wisconsin.
The news was first reported by the Pioneer Press, but was confirmed by The Sentinel through Mike Johnson, interim city administrator for Hudson.
More: Saugatuck mayor said no decisions would be made in workshop — they were anyway
According to Johnson, the application process for the role closed Jan. 31 — meaning Heise was pursuing other job opportunities prior to signing his resignation agreement Feb. 23. Heise was one of 35 applicants pursuing the role.
According to the Pioneer Press, the position pays up to $160,000 a year, plus benefits.
Saugatuck Mayor Lauren Stanton told The Sentinel local officials were not aware Heise was applying for other jobs before the resignation agreement was reached.
However, in the release announcing Heise's departure, Stanton wrote: “It became widely known six months ago that Ryan had intentions to relocate his family to the Stillwater, Minnesota, area where his wife’s family resides and was considering new opportunities to grow in his career."
Hudson and Stillwater are about nine miles apart.
The resignation agreement reached between officials and Heise continues to draw criticism from locals, in part because Heise received over $98,000 in exchange for his departure, and also because the vote approving the agreement was taken at the end of a workshop meeting for Saugatuck City Council.
About two minutes into that meeting, Stanton said the items on the agenda were "for discussion only." She was addressing dozens of taxpayers who'd shown up to speak on short-term rentals; few of whom remained after the late-meeting closed session that led to a decision on Heise.
According to the agreement signed by City Clerk Jamie Wolters on March 4, Saugatuck paid Heise a lump sum of 10.25 months of his annual salary, or $98,650, in exchange for his resignation. He will receive 144 hours of pay for unused vacation time, and will keep insurance benefits through Dec. 30. The agreement was slightly more than the 9 months of pay Heise would've been entitled to, had the city fired him without cause.
A source close to the issue, granted anonymity by The Sentinel, confirmed $11,147 listed under "legal fees — employment” in the packet for a meeting Monday, March 11, represented the cost the city incurred to negotiate the agreement.
Under his original contract, Heise was required to give a month's notice before resigning. Under the new agreement, that was waived.
Heise also agreed not to re-apply for employment with the city unless asked to do so in writing, and the city agreed not to provide more than his dates of employment and job title to prospective employers unless Heise signs a written request.
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"There's basically two issues here," one resident, Joe Leonatti, said Monday. "One story is that he resigned to go to greener pastures. ... The other story is that he was forced to resign and I don't think anyone in this council is vindictive, so I assume that if that was the case, (that) must have been for cause. In either case, if someone resigns for a better job, and you can't fault him for that, why are we paying him?
"The other reason, if he was fired for cause ... why are you paying him?"
— Contact reporter Austin Metz at ametz@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Heise a candidate for city administrator role in Wisconsin
