Details On Planning Director's New Contract Include "One-Time Payment"

While town of Nantucket Planning Director Leslie Snell is not receiving a formal raise as part of her new three-year contract approved by the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission (NP&EDC), she will receive $7,820 in addition to her salary this year as a “one-time payment,” bringing her total compensation over $200,000.

Snell and NP&EDC chair Abby De Molina previously told the Current that Snell would not receive a raise this year, in part to “better align with the town pay bands” after high-ranking town staff sharply criticized a pay increase Snell received last year. But while the $7,820 payment may not be a formal raise, it still increases her compensation by around 4 percent—roughly the same amount as the raise that town staff previously objected to.

De Molina told the Current this was a way to make sure Snell received compensation to offset higher cost of living expenses and inflation without increasing her base pay, meaning that it will not impact how any of her benefits or future raises are calculated.

“Any one-time payments aren’t considered a raise as they aren’t factored into the base pay, and they aren’t factored into the benefits or anything like that,” De Molina said.

The contract further specifies that Snell may receive cost-of-living increases in future years, but that those increases “shall be consistent with that granted by the Town to nonunion employees.”

During Snell’s last contract, town staff, including Human Resources Director Amanda Perry and former Finance Director Brian Turbitt, strenuously objected to a raise Snell received, arguing that it was “not warranted,” inconsistent with town policies, and might not even be permissible because it spanned multiple fiscal years.

Snell told the Current that “it seems obvious that if any salary increase approved by the Commission was somehow illegal, it would not be finalized and paid by the Town.”

Town representatives declined to answer some questions about their objections, but Communications Director Florencia Rullo told the Current that the town’s previous concerns were “not resolved” and that “it is not clear whether or not the NPEDC has the legal authority to independently enter into employment agreements with employees whose salaries and benefits are paid by the Town.”

“This remains to be resolved with the Town and NPEDC,” Rullo wrote in an email. “The new contracts come closer to being consistent with Town personnel policy.”

According to Snell’s new contract, her base compensation is $195,520.