Pederson hired as new as city administrator
By Tracy Overstreet
tracy.overstreet@theindependent.com
Grand Island has a new city administrator.
He's Jeff Pederson, the former city administrator from Dodge City, Kan.
The Grand Island City Council voted 10-0 Tuesday night to hire Pederson at a salary of nearly $110,000 a year, plus a $500 a month car allowance.
The salary will be $105,923 when Pederson starts next Wednesday by attending a three-day meeting of the League of Nebraska Municipalities in Gering.
The annual salary jumps to $109,630 on Oct. 1 when the new fiscal year and salary ranges go into effect.
"He's straightforward and easy to talk to and knowledgeable," said Mayor Margaret Hornady, who recommended the city hire Pederson.
She also liked his sense of humor a trait she believes is useful in city government.
Pederson, 50, had been city administrator in Dodge City, Kan. for two years before negotiating a separation agreement with the city in July.
Pederson said he had already started thinking about jobs elsewhere. Dodge City Mayor Kent Smoll said Pederson simply wasn't moving fast enough for the vast number of new projects the city had underway.
Pederson also has experience in South Dakota and Iowa. He served as city manager in Eagle Grove, Iowa from 1985-89 and in Vermillion, S.D. from 1989 to 2002.
Hornady said his lack of Nebraska experience is why she asked him to attend the League of Nebraska Municipalities meeting next week. The league represents the majority of Nebraska cities, towns and villages. It also lobbies on behalf of municipalities before the Nebraska Legislature.
Hornady said Pederson's first day at Grand Island City Hall will be Sept. 24.
"He's a man of unquestioned integrity and honesty and will work well with the staff, and council members and the community," she said.
Absent from Pederson's employment with the city is a written contract.
Hornady said the lack of a contract is on purpose after former city administrator Gary Greer left the city in February, taking with him a $61,000 severance payment even though he hadn't been fired.
"After the brouhaha with Gary's (contract) over my dead body would we be on the hook for $61,000 after someone's been offered employment," Hornady said.
Greer took a city manager job in Farmer's Branch, Texas, but a carefully worded clause in his Grand Island contract led to his severance payment even though he hadn't been fired here.
Hornady said the Greer case led her to carefully research contracts and wording. She learned that contracts and severance payments are not constitutional in Nebraska in most cases of government employment.
"Severance is illegal," Hornady explained because it binds a future council into a payment. "We can't call it a contract anymore."
For that reason, the city avoided a contract and instead extended a two-page letter of employment to Pederson.
"I appreciate it's volatile and very political and you can lose your job very quickly," Hornady said of being a city administrator. "They do need some kind of a safety net."
The employment letter offers a five-month severance to Pederson should he be fired, but he must commit to assisting the city on future legal means should they arise regarding issues Pederson dealt with as city administrator. That commitment shows a value to the current council at the time, said league of Nebraska Municipalities attorney Gary Krumland.
Pederson said last week that he looks forward to working in Grand Island, which is larger than Dodge City and a career advancement for him.
He was not available for comment Tuesday night after numerous calls placed to his home in
Dodge City.