Jerry Berry's Golden Handshake Update

Nanaimo City Manager Gets
$480,000.00+ To Retire!

The Daily News reports that outgoing city manager Jerry Berry will be paid more than $480,000.00 plus other benefits in what the Mayor calls an 'unprecedented' deal.

Under the negotiated agreement Berry will receive full medical and dental benefits in addition to his car allowance.

UPDATE

While there needs to be a full explanation forthcoming from Mayor Ruttan and city council there are more details about this settlement that shouldn't sit well with the taxpayers of Nanaimo.

Mr. Berry is being paid full salary for the next two years until he can qualify for his full retirement pension. If that is the case, why not keep him working for the next two years until he qualifies for retirement?

He also is being paid $7500 for his legal fees and another $2500 for transitional counseling. He is also receiving full medical and dental benefits in addition to his car allowance.

Mayor Ruttan says this will save the city money in the long run, however I think he really needs to show the taxpayer what numbers he is looking at to come to that conclusion.

I sincerely hope the local fifth estate does some serious digging into exactly what is going on with this deal. There are far too many unanswered questions to ignore.

1. Who agreed to Berry's contract in the first place?
2. Just how sweet is this total package and why is someone 'taking early retirement' entitled to such a deal?
3. Just what kind of a club did Berry and his negotiating team have?
4. Why does council think this is a good deal for taxpayers?
5. Since when did someone who retires early become entitled to full salary until they receive a pension?

The taxpayers of Nanaimo need a full and complete investigation of this whole deal by an independent third party as it simply stinks to high heaven!