It's Great to Be Good: Hallandale Beach City Manager Has Sweatheart Deal

hallandalebeach.org

Mike Good

Well, it sure looks like a sweetheart deal. In 2008, Mike Good, city manager of Hallandale Beach, collected a gross income of $422,000 and change.

I say "looks" only because thus far, neither Good nor Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper, who signs Good's contracts, has returned phone messages. Maybe there's a perfectly good explanation for why an employee of a city of 37,000 residents took home more money in 2008 then the United States will pay in 2009 to President Barack Obama, the man who's being asked to save the world.

At a public meeting last week, Commissioner Keith London asked Good the same question: How did you wrangle such a fat payout? Good told him he'd provide an answer by last Friday. London is still waiting.

After the jump, let's take a closer look at this city manager's pay.

Based on a document that London received through a public records request and provided to Juice, it appears that Good's base salary is $191,000. That's a nice pile of cash on its own, but it's roughly the scale that people in his important position can expect.

The real puzzler is the payout Good received for vacation and sick time. For vacation, the document indicates Good was paid a whopping $100,000. For sick time, $75,500. In total, that means that nearly half of Good's gross income came from cashing in vacation and sick time.

There are other perks. A "longevity" category adds another $2,700. Presumably, it's the reward that comes from having been employed for a long time with the city. Good was formerly the public works director.

The document says that Good is also paid $1,000 per month as a "car allowance." Again, having a car allowance isn't extraordinary for city managers, but the amount still is. A grand per month means your city manager doesn't just have reliable wheels. He can afford to travel in style.