Council To Vote To Extend City Manager's Contract

Long Beach NY

16 November, 2021

11:18 AM

Description

The Long Beach City Council will vote Tuesday on a proposal to retain City Manager Donna Gayden in her current position for more than two years. The proposal listed on the council's Nov. 16 agenda calls for a contract extension from Dec. 1, 2021 through to Dec. 31, 2023. Under the new contract, Gayden's annual salary would jump from $190,000 to $203,000, a 6 percent increase over her current base pay. Additionally, the city will pay Gayden $17,000 in wages for an IRS 457 deferred compensation pension plan, according to the Long Beach Herald. Gayden was an interim finance director at two municipalities in Illinois, the City of Country Club Hills and the Village of Bradley, for a collective three years and three months before she moved to work in Long Beach, according to her LinkedIn profile. The city council appointed her city manager in February 2020 to help overcome its financial woes that include substantial debt. In August 2020, the council entered into an employment contract with Gayden for a one-year term, from Sept. 1, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2021, at a salary of $190,000 per year, representing a 6 percent annual salary increase, according to the Herald. In September 2021, the council authorized an extension of that contract through Nov. 30, 2021. Tuesday's council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the sixth floor at City Hall.