The city will pay Stephanie Atigh six months of salary and health benefits after recently initiating termination proceedings with her.
Council members Monday night formally approved a resolution authorizing the severance payment to Atigh, who joined the city in August 2006 and will resign effective June 20.
According to her contract, Atigh was to receive the stipulated pay and benefits in the event that the city initiated termination proceedings. Council members have not cited a reason in public for initiating her termination before her ultimate resignation, though the mayor and Councilman Robert Scattini have both said they believe the city can achieve savings through an agreement with a contracted law firm.
According to the most recent figures on the state controller’s online database, from 2011, Atigh made $132,449 in total wages and Quilter made $121,485. Including benefits, Atigh’s total cost to the city was somewhere around $178,000 annually.
Also part of Monday’s meeting, council members agreed to a temporary arrangement with a private law firm, the Law Offices of Robert Wellington, to temporarily handle the city’s attorney services. The agreement paying $180 per hour is for up to six months, a period of time agreed upon by council members at the meeting.
