NAME THAT PARTY: Former Hackensack manager resigns, get salary, sick time payout anyway.
The city manager who resigned in December, just four months into a one-year contract, will be paid full salary until at least April and possibly through mid-June.
Stephen Lo Iacono also will receive a $74,683 sick and vacation day payout, while ousted city clerk Debra Heck was awarded a payout of nearly $32,000.
Lo Iacono resigned in December at the request of the City Council, which had given him a one-year contract in August in a move that sparked criticism because of his ties to the embattled former administration. Council members and Lo Iacono said in December that they were parting because it wasn't a "good fit."
A settlement agreement reached this month guarantees that Lo Iacono will be paid his annual salary of $170,516 – a biweekly gross payment of $6,558 – up to June 14. If he gets a full-time government job before April 14, he will be paid for four months instead.
Lo Iacono will serve as a consultant to the city during the pay period and agreed to be available during business hours at the city's request for phone consultation.
Under the agreement, Lo Iacono gets a $74,683 payout that covers 75 percent of his accrued vacation and sick days. Lo Iacono, city manager since 2005, is being paid for 18.25 vacation days and 127.5 sick days. He will continue to get health benefits during that pay period or until he starts a new full-time government job.
The former manager is entitled to four months' pay under state statute unless he is fired for cause, said city spokesman Thom Ammirato. The remaining two months were negotiated, he said. Under the agreement, Lo Iacono cannot sue the city.
Lo Iacono was the city's chief administrator during a tumultuous time when the police department was in disarray, its police chief faced criminal charges, and lawsuits against the city multiplied. He was named in a lawsuit against the city for failing to respond to sexual harassment complaints in the Building Department.
Economic development director Anthony Rottino is serving as interim city manager while officials continue a search for a permanent replacement.
The city also reached a payout agreement with former city clerk Debra Heck, who stepped down on Dec. 6, less than two weeks after the council passed a resolution calling for her resignation. Council members said Heck failed to adequately perform her job duties, but Heck said she was a political target and she has indicated she intends to sue.
She was paid $31,926 for 21 vacation days and for 39 sick days that she had not used, as well as for 35 overtime hours.
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