Park City Manager Tom Bakaly has withdrawn from a committee that will recommend how much the powerful new Summit County manager will get paid.
“[Bakaly] thought this might be a conflict,” Assistant Summit County Manager Anita Lewis said. “He thought people might say he’s trying to pad his own wage.”
But a six-figure salary similar to Bakaly’s is needed to attract qualified applicants for the county manager post, government officials say.
`The form of government in the county changed in January from a three-member county commission to the five-person council/manager model.
The Summit County Council, charged with hiring a manager to oversee the executive branch of government, may need to pay the county manager upwards of $125,000 per year, interim Summit County Manager Brian Bellamy said.
Members of the compensation recommendation committee so far include Chet Smith, Franci Eisenberg, Mike Luers and Mike Legge. A fifth member must be appointed to replace Bakaly, Lewis said.
Bellamy said he hopes the committee will examine what county managers earn in other resort areas before suggesting a compensation package.
“We’re trying to expedite this and do it right,” Bellamy said.
He said he expects the manager to be hired by mid-summer.
“We want somebody comparable to Tom Bakaly,” Bellamy said.
Bellamy said he expects many people to apply.
“A lot of people go through school to have degrees in public administration,” Bellamy said.
A nationwide job search is underway to fill the manager post. The first step was to name three people to serve on a selection board which will appoint a separate five-member committee to review the resumes. The annual salary for the Wasatch County manager is $76,000 and the county executive in Cache County earns about $72,000, he said.