John Day City Manager Nick Green

JOHN DAY — Nick Green is no longer the John Day city manager but will continue to work for the city as a consultant — at more money than he was making previously.

Green’s previously announced resignation was made official during the June 14 session of the John Day City Council, which opened the door for him to take on a consulting role with the city starting July 1.

Green’s consulting firm, Catalyst Public Policy Advisors LLC, entered a contract with the city that was approved by the council at the June 14 meeting. Council Member Heather Rookstool voted no on the proposal. 

The contract allows Green’s firm to provide consulting services to John Day for one year. The move makes Green an independent contractor and transitions him off the city’s books as an employee.

The services Catalyst will provide include administration of the city’s current grants portfolio and debt management for the city’s loan portfolio. The firm will also be responsible for coordinating bridge loans for city projects such as the wastewater treatment plant and financial management of the city’s urban renewal area. Catalyst will also provide asset management for the city’s land sales and property transfers.

Catalyst is set to make $12,500 a month for its consultation services, which works out to $150,000 a year. The firm will be paid $225 an hour for any additional services that are outside the scope of its normal duties, such as any additional grant writing requested by the city.

Terms of the contract state that Catalyst’s compensation can not exceed $200,000 a year.

As city manager, Green’s total compensation from the city was $107,526 in salary and benefits. He also received a 1% fee from many of the grants he brought in.

Interim City Manager Corum Ketchum is being paid a comparable amount to what Green made in that role. Ketchum is slated to make $85,000 a year in salary with a benefits package valued at just over $20,000 annually.

Ketchum’s job as city manager will not encompass the same scope as Green’s job as city manager, according to Mayor Ron Lundbom. Ketchum’s duties will include preparing the agenda packets for City Council meetings and making sure city projects are done in a timely manner and in accordance with contract terms. Hands-on involvement in those projects will fall to Green and his consulting firm.

The contract with Catalyst includes an immediate termination clause that would be triggered in the event of dishonesty, failure to comply with applicable laws related to the consultant’s independent contractor status or the failure to perform consultant duties outlined in the contract with the city.

City Council Chair Dave Holland said the city reached out to Green about bringing him on as a consultant following his time as city manager. Council members had expressed concerns that some of the grant-funded projects started during Green’s six-year tenure could fail if someone with his expertise didn’t have a role in seeing them to completion.

In other action at the June 14 meeting, the council:

• Adopted the 2022-2023 fiscal year budget and approved the tax rate. The budget for fiscal year 2022-23 is $30,303,598, and the tax rate is $2.9915 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

• Approved a request by Clark’s Disposal, which holds the local waste hauling franchise, to impose a 7.5% fuel surcharge effective July 1. The surcharge will remain in effect until the price of a gallon of diesel fuel drops below $4. The surcharge, which will be assessed once per month, raises residential pickup rates by up to $2.80 per month and commercial rates by up to $10 per month.

The original version of the article had an inaccurate count of the council vote regarding the proposal. The error has been corrected.