Source: Business & Legal Reports US
Link: www.hr.blr.com


Want to decide how much you make and how many hours you work? Then get elected--or appointed--the mayor of Eagle Mountain, Utah. You can work full-time or part-time; it's up to you (with the agreement of the City Council, that is).

One caveat before applying for this job--the turnover rate is high. Eagle Mountain has had nine mayors in 10 years!

The current mayor, commercial banker Don Richardson, was appointed mayor when the incumbent resigned. Although he had lived in Eagle Mountain for only 2 years, Richardson applied for the appointment because of his financial and management expertise--and because he thought the job was part-time, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

While the previous mayor supposedly worked 40-hour weeks, Richardson found that once he settled in, he could do the job in around 20 hours. So he switched himself to an hourly rate based on an annual salary of $34,991, about half of what his predecessor was earning, according to the newspaper.

He also suggested that the revenue saved be applied to increasing salaries of other city employees, especially since Eagle Creek had been regularly losing employees to other municipalities that paid more.

Tired of making out time cards, Richardson asked the City Council to award him an annual part-time salary, but this caused problems when it was determined the part-time salary was based on pay plus full-time benefits, the newspaper notes.

Several ideas were floated in the Council, including paying mayors on the basis of their time commitment and letting mayoral candidates choose half-time, three-quarter, or full- time jobs as part of their campaign platform.

The City Council has delayed a vote on the issue to allow the city attorney to research the pay issues