Oak Ridge Today

Council member Hope explains proposed pay raise for city manager

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Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

A proposed 10 percent pay raise for the Oak Ridge city manager will make his pay more competitive with the average salary for top municipal officials, a council member said last week.

The salary increase for City Manager Mark Watson was recommended by a three-member City Council committee after his pay was compared to other city managers across Tennessee and in other U.S. Department of Energy cities across the country, said Chuck Hope, chair of the City Manager Evaluation Committee. The committee, which includes Vice Mayor Jane Miller and Council member Charlie Hensley, also considered the responses to questionnaires sent out to all seven Council members, asking them to rate Watson’s performance in five categories.

“This is just an adjustment of his base pay to get him more competitive,” Hope said. It takes the average city manager’s salary in Tennessee into account as well as the market conditions that might have to be considered if Oak Ridge had to replace Watson. [Read more…]

Council to consider 10 percent pay raise for city manager, mall TIF

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider a 10 percent salary increase for City Manager Mark Watson.

If council approves, Watson would earn a new annual base salary of $150,321.60, effective Aug. 8, 2013. He started in Oak Ridge about three years ago at an annual salary of $131,996.80.

The pay raise has been unanimously recommended by a three-member City Manager Evaluation Committee. It would require that Watson’s employment agreement be amended.

The recommended increase is based on council member’s evaluations of Watson and his performance during the previous year, said Charles J. “Chuck” Hope Jr., chair of the City Manager Evaluation Committee. [Read more…]

Watson to discuss ‘State of the City’ at Lunch with the League

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson will give an update on the state of the city during Lunch with the League on Tuesday.

The meeting starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Watson became Oak Ridge city manager in August 2010. He is the chief administrative officer of the city, and his responsibilities include planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and evaluating the operations of the municipal government in order to implement Oak Ridge City Council policies in an effective and economic manner, a press release said. [Read more…]

City manager to present budget tonight

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The city manager will present his proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 during a work session at 7 p.m. today in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

The budget presentation had earlier been scheduled for May 6, but it has been changed due to scheduling conflicts, a city press release said. [Read more…]

Oliver Springs Council agrees to keep new city manager

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The Oliver Springs Town Council voted 4-2 on Thursday to keep Tina Treece as city manager after her probationary period ends in a few days, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.

The vote followed a 30-minute discussion on Treece’s performance during her first three months.

[Read more…]

Oliver Springs offers city manager job to Treece

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The Oliver Springs Town Council voted Thursday 3-2, with one abstention, to offer the city manager job to Tina Treece of Rhea County, according to WYSH Radio in Clinton.

The town has been without a permanent city manager since earlier this year when David Bolling stepped down to accept a similar job in Maine.

[Read more…]