The Penn Hills manager’s contract provides a way for him to be paid more than $220,000 for resigning and returning to his job as director of public works.

In May, the manager of nine years said his last day would be July 1 .

According to Mohammed Rayan’s contract, approved by council in July 2009, “if either Penn Hills or the employee decides to terminate employee’s employment as Municipal Manager without cause, employee has the option to return to his former job as the Director of Public Works … and be eligible for severance.”

The Tribune-Review obtained a copy of the manager’s original contract from a municipal employee who wishes to remain anonymous. Two additional municipal employees then verified the document as being Rayan’s contract.

The newspaper filed a Right to Know request for the contract with the municipality in June, was denied and has since appealed with the state Office of Open Records.

The contract defines severance as “one year of pay” and an additional month’s pay for every year of service. Based on that definition and using his current salary, the total Rayan stands to gain in severance totals $222,626.

The contract also states Rayan would be “paid said severance within 30 days of his return to Public Works.”

Rayan earned $93,408 in 2009, his first year as manager. In 2010, he received a 4 percent pay bump, and the contract guaranteed a 3 percent increase every year. His salary in 2018 was $127,215, according to the municipality’s budget.

After three weeks of silence immediately following his resignation announcement, Rayan read from a prepared statement at a June 4 voting meeting , explaining he stepped down because the atmosphere at work had become a “political arena” and that politicians meddled in his daily job duties.

“When I accepted this position, it was agreed upon that there would be no political interference and no micromanagement by mayor and council,” Rayan said.

“However, in the past nine months, politicians have not complied with the home rule charter and have attempted to interfere with the personnel management and in the daily operations of the municipality.”

Rayan would not offer specific details or name the people involved.

At the same meeting, Mayor Sara Kuhn teared up when talking about how she would miss the manager. Kuhn, who was part of council when it approved of Rayan’s managerial contract in July 2009, said he deserves the payout and called the clause that details Rayan’s severance a “smart business move on his part.”

“Why would you take a chance to become a manager of Penn Hills and then be let go in six months to a year and then be without a job? He didn’t come to us, we came to him,” Kuhn said at the meeting.

Rayan replaced Manager Terry Van Horne in 2009 and ended a streak of managers who served short terms ending with resignation or termination.

“He has saved this municipality hundreds of thousands of dollars. So whatever that severance pay is, he deserves that,” Kuhn said, adding that if residents have a problem with the severance, they should sign up for the public comment portion of a voting meeting to speak to her directly.

According to the contract, which lists its term length as “indefinite,” Rayan also was granted benefits, a deferred compensation plan, payment for professional dues to subscriptions and travel expenses associated with his membership in three engineering or managerial organizations and a municipal vehicle.

When he was hired in 2009, Rayan also was entitled to five weeks of paid vacation, 15 sick days and four personal days. In addition, he is eligible to receive 250 hours of compensatory time every six months.

Rayan’s salary is in line with those for managers of neighboring communities. Plum Manager Mike Thomas will earn $142,500 in 2018. Monroeville Manager Tim Little’s salary is $115,000 and Jim Morrison, chief administrator in Murrysville, makes $108,650.

However, Rick Schuettler, executive director of the Pennsylvania Municipal League, described the clause setting Rayan’s severance as one year of pay plus an additional month’s salary for every year he served as unusual.

“I’ve never heard of that,” Schuettler said, adding that severance is usually based on and calculated using one’s monthly salary. Schuettler independently read a copy of the contract the Tribune-Review obtained through an anonymous source.

“And typically severance kicks in when it’s terminated without cause. I haven’t seen that before,” he said.

Toward the end of his statement at the June 4 meeting, Rayan said he would return to his former job as director of public works.

The municipality’s current budget does not include a public works director position. The public works superintendent’s salary is listed at $88,627.

Kuhn, who has said she will not run for re-election when her term expires in 2020, said after an Aug. 13 voting meeting that she stands by her statements made at the June 4 meeting.

Council members Catherine Sapp and Gary Underwood did not respond to calls seeking comment on this story. When asked about specifics of Rayan’s contract, Councilman John Petrucci said “no comment.”

Councilman Mark Brodnicki said after an Aug. 13 meeting that he had read the contract but not recently and did not remember the specifics. When asked if he was the one who meddled in the manager’s daily operations, causing the “political arena” the manager cited for his resignation, he said, “I don’t believe I did, but I know you’re not supposed to.” He also said he did not know “offhand” who had meddled in Rayan’s daily duties.

District Magistrate Anthony DeLuca Jr. served as mayor of Penn Hills in 2009 and signed Rayan’s contract. He did not return phone calls seeking comment, nor did Penn Hills Solicitor Craig Alexander.

Maureen Sorce, Rayan’s secretary, said the municipality has received 10 to 20 applications for the manager’s position but has yet to hire a candidate.

Applicants had until July 27 to submit resumes, a cover letter and references, and Sorce said the municipality is not accepting additional applications. However, as of Aug. 14, the municipality’s website still listed the vacancy under its “Employment” tab, where the posting says candidates must have a master’s degree in public administration and at least 10 years of progressive administrative experience. A successor also must live in Penn Hills within one year of taking the job.

Dillon Carr is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Dillon at 412-871-2325, dcarr@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dillonswriting.

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