Writer: Staff Reports
Published June 15, 2023
Now Habersham
The Chief Administrative Officer for Baldwin will receive a 60% salary increase if the current proposed employment contract is approved by the city council. Emily Woodmaster’s current salary is $65,000. However, her salary would increase to $104,000 beginning July 1 under the terms of the proposed contract.
In addition to the new proposed salary, Woodmaster would receive a one-time payment of $12,283.83. This supplemental payment is the difference between her new and old salaries during the time her contract was negotiated, beginning on March 13 through the end of June.
The council released the terms of the negotiated agreement during their meeting on June 12. Under the terms of the contract, Woodmaster would also receive a city-owned vehicle for professional and personal use. The city would be responsible for gas, maintenance, repairs, and insurance.
Health insurance, retirement, and paid time off would follow the city’s personnel policy as defined for all other employees.
The employment contract provides that three council members could terminate the contract “for cause,” but it would take a unanimous council vote to release the Chief Administrative Officer for no reason or non-renewal of her contract.
According to the terms of the contract, if Woodmaster were to be terminated for cause, she would receive all unused paid time off and no additional benefits or salary.
In the event she is released for the benefit of the council without cause, the contract requires the council to give her a 60-day notice, during which time she will continue to draw her salary and benefits. After the 60-day notice, Woodmaster would be entitled to a minimum of 3 months’ salary and 3 months of employee’s cost for COBRA payments.
Woodmaster would also be entitled to an additional month of severance for each year she completes, not to exceed a total of six months of severance pay.
Woodmaster was hired as Baldwin City Clerk in 2018. She was named acting CAO at the end of 2020 and assumed the position full-time in September 2021, according to official records. In addition to her administrative duties, she continues to serve as city clerk.
Recently, Woodmaster was recognized as a Certified Public Manager by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia. She had to complete 300 hours of training to earn the certification.
Baldwin council members briefly discussed Woodmaster’s pending contract during their meeting on June 12. They tabled it until their next meeting on Monday, June 26.
Now Habersham reached out to Baldwin’s Acting Mayor Alice Venter for comment regarding the proposed pay raise. In her response received after publication, Venter said, Woodmaster performs multiple duties and the city “is correcting Emily’s salary – along with other departments.”
She said we’re “establishing a contract that will protect both Emily and the City during her employment.”
According to Venter, Baldwin conducted a pay study for the various positions that Woodmaster fills, including CAO, city clerk, and finance director/human resources, “so that we could be confident we were making a fair and equitable offer.”
Combined, Emily’s service to the City represents $247,000 annually, Venter says.
“If everything is approved, the city will be saving $85,000 in base salary,” Venter states, adding, “This savings doesn’t reflect the additional money that would be spent on benefits for multiple positions.”
In addition to raising Woodmaster’s pay, the city council is again proposing filling the city clerk position to, in Venter’s words, “ease Emily’s workload.”
