Burlington City Manager Jim Ferneau will likely be getting a tidy raise following a closed session meeting in which his performance was evaluated.
The raise does not come as a surprise to many. Burlington Mayor Shane McCampbell told the council that Ferneau is, as it stands, being paid far less than other city managers in cities of similar size.
“It’s a travesty.” McCampbell said, “I see this happen all the time: you have a good employee, and they’re really worth their weight in gold, and we aren’t giving them what they’re worth. And then they leave, and we bring in someone who is doing half the job or destroying what was done, and all for more money. And we should not let that happen.”
Under Ferneau’s leadership, the city has been able to cut spending and begin to slowly rebuild the general fund balance after years of deficit spending. Councilman Tim Scott praised Ferneau’s work.
“We’ve seen a lot of successes with Jim so far and I see a lot more on the Horizon…It’s time we paid the city manager what this job ought to be paying,” said Scott.
Ferneau will be receiving a raise of around 12%.
