Residents Outraged As Laramie Council Gives City Manager $43,000 Raise

After getting an earful from angry local residents, the Laramie City Council gave longtime city manager Janine Jordan a $43,000 a year raise Tuesday night.

The council voted by a 6-2 vote to approve raising City Manager Janine Jordan’s salary to $216,000 a year, a nearly 25% bump and a nearly $43,000 increase from her current salary, as well as a 33% increase since 2018. 

Her new contract includes a $500 a month vehicle stipend and a year of $140,000 severance pay if she gets fired from her job. It also includes a retention bonus that Jordan was entitled to whether or not she got the raise, which contributed to about 3% of the increase.

This raise gives Jordan a higher salary than the governor, any of the other statewide elected officials and the Cheyenne mayor, and only slightly less than the U.S. vice president.

Both Jordan and Laramie City Attorney Bob Southard already had their salaries increased in 2018 and 2022 as a result of citywide employee raises given in those years. 

Lame Ducks?

Tuesday’s meeting was the last of the current Laramie City Council, which has four outgoing members.

Resident Paul Montoya and about 10 others requested the council delay making a decision on the city manager and attorney contracts until the new council takes over in January. 

“I think it’s unfair in the last hour to put a contract like this forward,” Montoya said, calling the group “a lame duck council.”

“I don’t see any reasons except an administration trying to hide things,” he said.

Council member Jayne Pearce disagreed, saying that the council is particularly qualified to rule on these employee contracts because it has years of experience working with the individuals, as opposed to new council members who have not. 

She also said the new council could choose to revisit, and possibly change, the contracts at any time.

The council is responsible for hiring and managing the city manager, city attorney and municipal judge. At the end of each year, it evaluates these employees on their performance, which is why the contracts came up Tuesday.

But the city manager and attorney’s contracts are at-will, meaning they didn’t have to be renewed or given a pay raise.

Montoya, who ran for city council this year, argued that most Laramie residents are unhappy with their city government so Jordan shouldn’t get a raise.

A 2023 city survey showed that although Laramie residents are generally happy with life in Laramie and feel safe, they’re less satisfied with some city services, and in particular the city’s road and street maintenance.

“I think the citizens need to let you know that they’re not happy with this decision,” Montoya said.

Resident Tim Hale agreed, saying there’s never been as much litigation in Laramie as what’s been seen under Jordan’s “regime.” For instance, in 2013, Jordan filed a lawsuit against one of her own council members.

“This is taxpayers’ money and to pay this kind of money, I think is unconscionable and, if anything, this council should be meeting right now for a vote of confidence,” Hale said.

City Manager Contract

Jordan had her pay increased to $144,231 in 2018 and then again to $173,074 in 2022. Neither of these totals included benefits.

The topic of Jordan’s pay was one of the major discussion points of the Laramie City Council election races this year.

Mayor Brian Harrington said that the candidates who opposed Jordan receiving a raise were not successful in their individual campaigns, which he believes points to the true public sentiment on the matter.

Jordan has been with the City of Laramie since 2004 and the city manager since 2007 and Newman said her raises have never been questioned in the past. 

Council member Joe Shumway said the council was much more divided before Jordan took over, a culture he credited her for changing. He also credited her for saving the city millions of dollars because of her work.

“For her skills, she’s underpaid for where she could go and could earn,” he said. “I feel lucky to have her as a city manager.”

Accountability

Many residents argued that Jordan hasn’t been accountable to the public’s wishes.

A city manager serves a critical role for their government, the head chief for day-to-day operations, negotiating land sales and purchases, working with City Council and preparing a recommended budget.

Council member Erin O’Doherty commended Jordan’s performance, mentioning how Jordan brought in at least $19 million worth of business for Laramie. She acknowledged that “it’s hard to spend money,” but said Jordan still deserves the raise, and also mentioned how 42 employees at the University of Wyoming and 17 state employees will still make more than Jordan.

“For somebody that has done so much for our city and has been doing it for 20 years exceptionally well … I support this,” O’Doherty said.

Resident Billie Eckhardt disagreed, saying the city manager’s salary should be based on the median income of the city. According to the U.S. Census bureau, the 2022 median income in Laramie was $50,539. 

“That way if they want to make more, they make sure their city is more successful,” she said.

Comparisons

Jordan’s new salary will put her more in line with what city managers make in some of Wyoming’s larger communities, although Laramie is one of Wyoming’s poorest towns.

In the town of Jackson, the most expensive place to live in Wyoming, the city manager makes $254,000 a year. The city manager of Casper makes $246,000. In Gillette, the city manager makes just less than Jordan’s new salary.

“I believe the data supports this,” Harrington said.

Eckhardt also suggested the council get a new city manager that could do the job for less money, and resident Holly Dyer said she’s not seeing the value from paying Jordan that much.

Council member Andi Summerville said it would be more appropriate for the public to consider whether the city manager position should be publicly elected rather than publicly questioning Jordan’s performance. She described the conversations as “a bit much.”

“I would encourage everybody that's frustrated to just think about this a little differently and think about what the true frustration issues are, not necessarily connected to one person the council employs,” she said.

Council member Micah Richardson recognized the optics of the raise, saying she doesn’t make anywhere close to what Jordan makes and understands the public’s concern.

“We know that people are struggling, but we also know that if we look at other city managers in Wyoming, she is not at the top of that list salary-wise,” she said.

Despite helping negotiate her contract and expressing support for Jordan’s work, council member Brandon Newman said he voted against the raise due to the public opposition to the raise, telling the audience, “I work for you.”

Some people have claimed on social media that Jordan doesn’t actually live in Laramie, a point which council member Sharon Cumbie refuted, pointing out that Jordan is her neighbor. Newman also said there’s no Laramie city ordinance requiring the manager live in town.

Resident Linda Devine said that although she doesn’t always agree with Jordan’s decisions, she supports the raise and said her compensation should be considered as a separate matter from her policy decisions.

“I don’t even know why in the hell she wants this job because the stuff that comes out day after day, and the conspiracy theories and the lies, you couldn’t pay me a million bucks (to do it),” Devine said.

The City of Laramie recently approved $1.75 million in raises to its employees as a result of the city’s wages being “wildly under the market value in a number of places” when compared to other Wyoming communities, Harrington said. Some employees received as much as a 39% raise, but Harrington said the average bump was just under 9%. 

Harrington said Jordan requested the council to hold off giving her a pay raise until the other city employees received theirs first. He also said she didn’t request the raise, and the pay increase is being made based on a study performed.

City Attorney Contract

Southard has been working for the city of Laramie as its attorney since 2016. His new contract that the council voted to approve on a 7-1 vote will pay him $160,000 a year.

Harrington said Southard similarly did not request the pay increase and it was the council’s idea to bump his pay based on the results of a study the city received to find comparable market rates for every single position it employs on employee compensation. 

Hale accused the attorney’s office of failing to meet deadlines and exhibiting an unprofessional courtroom demeanor. He said the council should not only not give Southard a raise, but find a new city attorney.

“In fact, I think of all the city attorneys I’ve seen come and go, this office is the most anti-citizen that we’ve ever experienced,” he said. 

Montoya said there’s no credible reason to give Southard a raise just because his contract renewal has come up and also mentioned how there are two other employees in the attorney’s office doing legal work.

Although Newman said he also helped negotiate the new contract and commended Southard’s performance, he decided to vote against this pay increase too because of the public opposition.

Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.