Edited for clarity and to add comments by City Manager Odis Jones and Mayor Doug Gaul. The original bonus, according to the city, is paid immediately. Jones can earn a retention bonus and project- and goal-based bonus in the future.
Hutto City Manager Odis Jones will receive a $15,000 bonus, unanimously approved by the City Council.
Hutto City Manager Odis Jones[/caption]The City Council voted Thursday to give Jones the performance bonus six months after he came to Hutto from Michigan. He agreed to terms in November and started with the city in December. At the suggestion of City Attorney Mike Shaunessy, the council also voted to provide a retention bonus for Jones if he stays with the city until June 1, 2018.
The deal also means Jones can’t leave the city of Hutto for a government entity in any county contiguous to Williamson County or any county contiguous to counties that border Williamson County.
“It prevents him from leaving and taking work he started with Hutto away,” Shaunessy said.
The mayor and council will also develop a specific bonus plan with goals tied to different projects that would allow Jones to earn an extra $20,000.
“It’s different to start a project and complete them,” Shaunessy said, suggesting the council tie additional compensation into different phases of projects.
Council members said they were pleased with the fact Jones helped secure plans for a business and industrial park, and this week, development for the Gin at the Co-Op property. The council voted 6-0 to approve the $15,000 bonus and to set a project- and goal-based opportunity for bonuses up to $20,000.
"I'm deeply humbled not only in the confidence the City Council has shown in me, but humbled and blessed with the camaraderie my family and I have here," Jones said. "I thank God for having the opportunity not only to work here, but to raise my children here."
Mayor Doug Gaul said the council has been impressed with the new projects.
"We're very excited about the direction," Gaul said. "A lot of things were talked about for years and we're starting to see them come to life."
Community Impact Newspaper has requested a copy of the amended contract for Jones through a Texas Public Information Act request.
