Longview council plans to pay Duscha $177,000

Draft contract would prohibit him from firing some top city workers

Former Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha would make an annual salary of nearly $177,000, get 80 hours of paid vacation time but would be prohibited from firing any department heads while serving as Longview’s interim city manager, according to a draft contract posted on the city’s web site this morning.

Duscha’s rate of pay will be just short of the $179,304 that the city paid Kris Swanson, the city manager whom the City Council fired without cause a week ago amid accusations that the four-member majority acted rashly, violated open meetings and open records laws and put the city at legal risk.

The council named Duscha interim city manager immediately after firing Swanson. It will vote on the contract with Duscha at a special meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at City Hall.

The contract would grant Duscha 80 hours of paid vacation but would prohibit him from firing any department heads. Critics of the council have portrayed Duscha as the council majority’s hit man to fire assistant City Manager Ann Rivers and IT director David Wallis.

The contract stipulates: “Duscha agrees that the stability of City staff is of critical importance to ongoing City operations. Accordingly, Duscha agrees that he will not terminate any department heads or other employees reporting directly to the Interim City Manager during his term as Interim City Manager.”

It was not immediately clear which employees would be shielded under that provision.

The contract is an “at will” agreement, meaning the council could terminate it whenever it wishes.

The contract would require Duscha “to facilitate, via the Human Resources department, an open, transparent, and competitive recruitment process for a permanent City Manager. He may apply to be considered for the permanent position of City Manager in a competitive recruitment process.”

The draft, seven-page contract does not specify a timeline for hiring a permanent city manager, but it sets dates for evaluating Duscha’s performance by the end of September.

Duscha would get a $500-a-month car allowance and benefits and would have to work full time for the city.

Check back later today for an updated story.