At a meeting Thursday morning, Metroparks Board President Debra Berry announced that CEO Brian Zimmerman would indeed be receiving a 3.95 percent raise, the maximum allowable amount prescribed in his three-year contract. The raise will bring Zimmerman's total compensation to $228,700.
The three-member board of commissioners, which meets every two weeks, adjourned to a private executive session at their 12/8 meeting to discuss compensation matters. It was presumed that the commissioners were green-lighting Zimmerman's maximum raise.
Unlike last year, when the board authorized an unprecedented 19-percent raise for Zimmerman, this year's bump is permitted in his three-year contract. Zimmerman also receives a generous benefits package.
The steady metastasis of Zimmerman's hefty salary is often defended — and was defended this morning, by Berry — on the grounds of Zimmerman's leadership. Earlier this month, Zimmerman was awarded "Professional of the Year" honors by the Ohio Parks and Recreation Association.
The board also authorized a 1-percent cost-of-living "wage adjustment" and a 3-percent "aggregate performance-based waged adjustment" for the park district's 411 non-union employees. Those adjustments will take effect on Christmas Day.
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