Photo courtesy of the City of Murfreesboro
Murfreesboro’s City Council unanimously settled on a separation agreement on Monday from resigning City Manager Rob Lyons, paying a total of $95,810 in severance pay.
According to the agreement, Lyons will receive his regular pay, which includes a full bi-weekly paycheck of $6,685 and a partial bi-weekly paycheck of $3,342 for December 2017.
Lyons will then receive 13 bi-weekly severance paychecks at his current salary through July 6, 2018, totaling to $86,906. This severance pay was derived from approximately 100 unused accrued vacation days of pay and a City-paid medical and dental payment of $8,903.
Rob Lyons resigned on Friday, Dec. 15, after serving eight years as city manager. This came after he expressed an interest in pursuing other opportunities to Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland on Dec. 11.
McFarland released the following statement about Lyons’ resignation:
We deeply appreciate the many years of service Rob has provided Murfreesboro and its citizens over the past two decades. While his professional and steadfast leadership will be very difficult to replace, Murfreesboro City government is larger than any one individual, elected or appointed, including the City Manager. Murfreesboro will continue to provide the same quality services and leadership that our citizens have come to expect in a City ranked among the top-10 fastest growing mid-sized cities in the U.S.”
McFarland said that he wanted to dispel any speculation or rumors that could arise from this decision.
“No one asked Mr. Lyons to resign,” McFarland said. “This was a decision (Lyons) made after lengthy years of service and a desire to seek out other opportunities.”
Lyons became Murfreesboro’s first assistant city manager in 1997 and was promoted to city manager in 2009. That same year, he was awarded the Rutherford Pinnacle Award by the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and named the Daily News Journal’s Person of the Year. The Nashville Business Journal named Lyons a “Rutherford County Person of Influence” in 2014.
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