Details of former City Manger Geoff Dolan’s severance package released last week indicate that his Dec. 13 parting may have been less than voluntary.
Stipulations of his contract entitled Dolan to severance pay only in the event of his “involuntary separation” or the city’s failure to automatically renew his contract, which was up Jan.1. It also required that Dolan give three months notice of voluntary resignation.
According to city records obtained through a Public Records Act request from Easy Reader, Dolan will receive $194,640, a lump sum equal to six months salary and benefits. That figure could have been reduced by one month’s salary for each month of
advanced notice given by the city, according to his contract.
Dolan’s annual salary was $257,000 at the time of his departure.
City officials have maintained that the parting was amicable for all parties, as did Dolan in an interview last month.
“We all mutually agreed that Geoff would be pursuing other endeavors, and we stand by that,” Mayor Mitch Ward said.
Ward declined further comment on what prompted Dolan’s departure.
“It’s a weird situation, obviously,” City Attorney Robert Wadden said. “This was a unique set of circumstances, but it was mutual. There is no question about that.”
Wadden declined to comment directly on whether the Dolan’s separation was involuntary.
“You can draw your own conclusions from reading the contract,” he said.
Dolan was hired as Manhattan Beach’s City Manager in 1995 after serving in the same position in Longmont, Colorado for seven years.
Community Development director Richard Thompson is currently serving as interim city manager. Officials estimated that the search for Dolan’s successor will take approximately four to six months.
“We took considerable time to deliberate over all aspects of Geoff’s contract and are satisfied with the path we are on,” Ward said.
Beyond that, Ward said that the issue was a personnel matter.
