Mahaney paid over $300k for no disparaging remarks about North Myrtle Beach agreement says
.jpg "Mike Mahaney spoke to media members and members of the public at North Myrtle Beach City Hall on Sept. 19, 2024.")
During a special meeting on Tuesday afternoon, North Myrtle Beach’s city council and mayor voted on a resolution to accept former city manager Mike Mahaney’s letter of resignation.
Mahaney was not in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.
The meeting lasted less than one minute with no public discussion. City council and the mayor voted to approve a resolution for the transition and release in full of Mahaney from his duties as of Oct. 22, as outlined in the Transition resources and Release in Full Agreement between Mahaney and the City of North Myrtle Beach.
City attorney Chris Noury denied further comment, instead saying that the document and statement from the city speak for themselves.
“The transition agreement outlined in the City Council’s October 22, 2024, resolution is a standard business practice for executive leadership changes,” the statement said. “Mike Mahaney served the City of North Myrtle Beach as City Manager for fourteen (14) years. This amicable transition agreement allows our City and Mike to move forward in a positive way, avoiding any costly legal actions. We appreciate Mike’s service and we wish him the best in future endeavors.”
According to the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, Mahaney will now be getting an expression of thanks by the city for his tenure as city manager and payments of $193,379 and $126,505, according to the resolution.
The first payment is equal to six months of salary, the cash value of Mahaney’s unused annual leave, his car allowance and health insurance for six months and a one year premium for a life insurance policy being converted to an individual policy, the agreement said.
The second payment of $126,505 will be a lump sum payment that will be made via direct deposit during the week of Jan. 6 though 10, 2025, clause two said.
In exchange for accepting the second payment, the agreement states that “Mr. Mahaney intends to and does hereby release and covenant not to sue the City, the City’s past and present Council members, its past and present employees and agents, and any of the persons, agencies, firms, or corporations affiliated with the City.”
The fifth clause of the agreement states that Mahaney and the City agree not to disclose the existence or terms of the agreement to “any person or entity, other than Mr. Mahaney’s spouse, attorney, accountant, except as may be required by law.”
The city states that they will provide “only neutral references” to prospective employers who may inquire about Mahaney, the agreement states.
“Mr. Mahaney agrees not to make any disparaging remarks about the City, its employees, its officers, its Council Members, and its agents, except as may be required by law,” clause seven states. “The City, in turn, agrees not to make disparaging remarks about Mr. Mahaney, exept as may be required by law.”
In total, Mahaney will receive $319,884, numbers in the agreement show. According to his resume, his annual salary at the time of his departure was $253,000 a year.
A copy of Mahaney’s employment contract with the City of North Myrtle Beach shows that the city contractually owed him six months of aggregate compensation, or roughly $129,500, if he was removed from his position as city manager.
Mahaney previously was removed by the same elected officials and placed on paid administrative leave during a special meeting on Sept. 19.
After that meeting, Mahaney filed a written notice to have a public hearing about his employment, which is granted by South Carolina law. Since the resignation was submitted prior to Tuesday’s meeting, North Myrtle Beach’s Public Information Officer Lauren Jessie said via email that there will no longer be a public hearing.
According to Clause 9, Mahaney consulted with an attorney about the agreement. He has until 5 p.m. on Friday to return the signed document to the city.
After that, the agreement states that Mahaney has seven days after signing it to revoke his acceptance of the agreement.
Assistant City Manager Ryan Fabbri will serve as acting City Manager starting on Oct. 22, which is the day Mahaney’s employment with the city ends, according to the agreement.
This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 1:40 PM.
