What ACHD commissioners just decided about ‘golden parachute’ contract for director
A divided Ada County Highway District board on Wednesday gave ACHD’s director a three-year contract extension.
The commissioners also agreed to pay Bruce S. Wong a year’s pay and benefits if he is fired without cause or quits because the board breaches the contract.
The board kept Wong’s base pay at $164,798, with the possibility of additional raises in the next two years based upon annual salary reviews. The contract presented to the board would have raised his pay 3% to $169,750, but outgoing Commissioner Sara Baker proposed skipping the cost-of-living raise, and her colleagues accepted the change.
It’s the third such contract for Wong, a Boise resident who has been executive director since 2011. The first came in 2014, the second in 2017.
Commissioners Kent Goldthorpe, of Meridian, and Jim Hansen, of Boise, opposed the contract, although they hastened to add that they had no problems with Wong’s job performance.
“I just think it’s wrong, from a philosophical standpoint,” said Goldthorpe, who previously called the potential termination payout a “golden parachute.”
“I don’t think it’s right that this commission obligate future commissions,” he said.
Hansen said ACHD had no multiyear contracts before 2014. “The agency functioned fine,” he said. “... I think it’s critically important that each commission, as they come into office, have the power to determine the direction of the agency. The commission only hires one person, and that’s the director.”
Of the three commissioners who voted for the contract — Commission President Mary May, of Eagle, and longtime members Baker and Rebecca Arnold, both of Boise — only May is assured of remaining on the commission come January. Baker did not run for re-election in this month’s election, and lawyer and civil engineer David McKinney won her seat. Arnold lost to political newcomer Alexis Pickering by two votes, though a recount could change that.
May dismissed the obligating-future-commissions argument. “All commissions inherit decisions made by their predecessors,” she said. “... By having a contract for a couple of years as has been done in the past, we are introducing a reasonable amount of stability and continuity ... In January, the new commissioners will have their opportunity to weigh in and give direction.”
Goldthorpe said he is “very grateful” for the work Wong and his staff have done over the past year, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic. Wong said nothing about the vote during the meeting.
The new contract took effect Wednesday.
The highway district controls almost all local roads and bridges in Ada County. Its work makes it highly influential in the lives of commuters, bicyclists and pedestrians, and in the county’s growth.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 6:23 PM.
