Though he signed it on April Fool’s Day, it was no joke that Charles Austin officially gave up all legal rights he could have had against the city last Wednesday with his “retirement” agreement. Read the agreement in its entirety.
Plagued with management missteps and financial blunders, Austin had a less then stellar run as City Manager. Under his leadership, administrative costs for the city grew by more than 300%, out-of-control health care spending went unchecked and continues to bleed the city of tens of thousands of dollars a day, and the city has been less than capable of closing its accounting books on time and accurately. All the while, he was one of the highest paid municipal government employees in the state, pulling in a whopping $161,000 per year salary.
At the time of his resignation, word had it that Austin was slated for a $200,000 “retirement” package… basically to buy out the remaining year of his contract. But seemingly endless rounds in Executive Session lead City Council members to unanimously agree to a deal that pays him $40,000 plus his remaining leave days (about another $12,000) and gets him out of his contract one year ahead of schedule.
Honestly, friends… now that the reality has sunk in… this is one of the greatest bargains the City of Columbia could have ever made.
Now, city leaders have to continue cleaning up the residue from years of mismanagement.
Question now is… after Austin, who’s next?