Basalt hits home stretch on manager contract negotiations

The Basalt Town Council doesn’t have a signed contract with manager prospect Ryan Mahoney yet, but they have established a starting date of June 26.

The council settled final negotiating points in a public session Tuesday night. They discussed issues such as severance scenarios and bereavement leave.

Now those points must be incorporated into a final written contract that the council will vote on June 13 or in a special meeting.

In theory, they have reached the deal with Mahoney, but because the actual contract hasn’t been approved by the council and signed by him, it remains unavailable for public scrutiny. The salary and perks remain unknown.

Mahoney was verbally offered and accepted the job May 10. Negotiations have dragged on because the council typically meets only on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month.

The pay range for the job was advertised between $124,000 and $170,000.

Mahoney, 41, is currently the development services director for the town of Marana, Arizona. He leads a 20-person team that includes the planning, building and development engineering branches, according to his resume. He joined the town of Marana as planning director in 2013 and was promoted last year, his resume showed.

Elsewhere in his professional life, Mahoney served as town manager in Buena Vista and Dolores. He also has consulted in the state.

Mahoney was a finalist in fall 2012 when Basalt hired Mike Scanlon as manager. This time around, he was the council’s top choice out of a field of 58 applicants. The field was narrowed to two April 21, but the other finalist dropped out April 25. Mahoney and the town have negotiated terms of the contract since April 28.