The first Town Hall meeting with both city officials and POA officials started on an unexpected note. The chairman of the Property Owners Board of Directors told the audience gathered in Riordan Hall on March 24 that his trust in the "integrity, honest and fairness" of someone in the community had been shaken.
Earlier in the week, Teal explained, he saw an email from resident Jim Parsons. Parsons, who served on the POA board briefly in 2011, had asked for a copy of the new contract signed by General Manager Tommy Bailey. A Feb. 25 Weekly Vista story reported that the contract had been signed.
The first attachment to the email was a letter from POA attorney Doug McCash explaining why the contact would not be sent. Board policy 1.01 prohibits member access to employment contracts, the letter explained.
Teal said that is a common practice among both companies and non-profit organizations. He added that a 2009 law suit, brought by Parsons, confirmed the POA's right to keep employment contracts private.
The second attachment appeared to be the General Managers contract.
"The document attached to the email is not the current employment agreement," Teal said, adding that it appears to be an early draft of the agreement. "The employment agreement that was agreed to and is currently in effect has a number of changes and modifications from the document that Mr. Parsons included in his email."
A third attachment appeared to be a list of the general manager performance and bonus criteria. The performance goals were circulated to board members only days before, Teal said. The bonus amount on the attachment was not circulated to board members.
"The bonus amount on the document is something new that I have never seen," Teal said.
In February Teal announced that a contract had been signed with the general manager at an executive session in January. He described it as a "traditional employment agreement" that is "fair-minded and in the best interest of the members."
The general manager accepted a salary reduction. The new contract calls for a base salary of $120,000, while the old one would have cost $134,000.
Last month, Bailey explained that some residents believe he is overpaid and will not approve an assessment increase because of that. He accepted the reduction in hopes that it will help the board get a positive vote on an assessment increase.
There were other changes as well, Teal said.
"The new employment agreement provides for 'employment at will' and specific performance duties and responsibilities for the general manger with the right to terminate without a severance payment in the event of a termination 'for cause.'"
At one time the general manager's contract included a confidentiality agreement, although his salary was not confidential. Documents on the POA website include tax forms that show how much he was paid.
In 2009, Parson sued the board asking to see the general manager's contract, but he lost, Teal reminded the audience.
Board policy, in effect since 2007, prohibits the disclosure of employment agreements, Teal said. He said the board would investigate the possible source of the documents that were sent to Parsons and determine their response to the situation.
General News on 04/01/2015