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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—January 11, 2010 23 7.D. City Administrator Transition Process (continued) Mayor Harpstead clarified a change in the salary range would require Council action. Councilmember Holden stated she would not be interested in changing the wage range at this time. Arden Hills is within the same range as the surrounding communities. Mayor Harpstead asked if an outstanding candidate would exclude themselves from applying for the position based on the wage. Mr. Fursman stated he would exclude them from the search because once the range is set then candidates will not be expecting more or asking for more. Increasing the range would provide more candidates that are qualified for the position. Councilmember Holden asked if the contract for a City Administrator was an automatic six months severance pay. Mr. Fursman stated that this was not automatic. The severance can range from as little as nothing to the maximum under law of six months. H stated that he would like to balance the severance to an individual situation and base it on what the candidate had to go through to take this particular job. An example of this would be if they left a very well established job and relocated their family, then a greater assurance could be established. Councilmember McClung stated he would be willing to increase the upper limit to $115,000 in order to ensure the City is able to find a good candidate and this should be dependant on the candidate's qualifications. Councilmember Holden stated she does not agree that a $2,000 increase in the upper limit will give them better candidates. Councilmember Grant asked why there was a sample range provided for the surrounding communities when they only had one City Administrator. Mr. Fursman explained that the low end of the range was their base salary and the high end of the range included their merit review and deferred compensation plans.