Atlanta Unfiltered

Glenn Stephens, the new Gwinnett County administrator, signed a five-year contract this week worth $1.3 million.

He’ll start with a base salary of $228,000, plus $16,500 deferred compensation, plus a $9,100-a-year car allowance (or use of a take-home car). The county will also pay the premiums for a 20-year term life insurance policy, but the contract does not specify the amount of the coverage.

Each year, Gwinnett will compare Stephens’ pay to the comparable jobs in Cobb and Fulton counties and Atlanta. He could get a raise up to the average of those salaries.

If Stephens were fired without cause during the contract period, Gwinnett would owe him two years’ pay and benefits, plus compensation for his unused leave (he may carry up to nine weeks from one year to the next).

If he were fired with cause (for something like, say, “buggering the bursar,” as my friend Paul Shea would say), he would get nada.