Columbia City Council approves Matthes severance

The Columbia City Council accepted Monday a $179,000 severance agreement with former City Manager Mike Matthes and appointed an interim city manager.

The council met in closed session to discuss the severance agreement and Matthes’ appointment. They emerged from closed session before 1 p.m. to vote on the agreement with Matthes and former Deputy City Manager John Glascock’s appointment as interim city manager. Glascock will be paid about $165,000 per year in the new job, a 5 percent increase from his pay as deputy city manager.

The meeting was slightly delayed when city hall was evacuated because of a small fire in the bathroom.

Matthes announced his resignation last Tuesday and it became official Wednesday at 5 p.m.

The severance agreement laid out in Matthes’ contract states that he’s eligible for the pay if he was fired or resigned by mutual agreement with the council.

The payout consists of one year’s salary at a base pay of about $166,000 and then the leftover vacation days Matthes had accrued at about $80 an hour.

Glascock was also the acting manager in light of Matthes’ resignation.

Glascock is no stranger or outsider to Columbia city government. He was the director of public works for 10 years before he took on the deputy city manager position. He’s worked at the city since 2003 and worked for the Missouri Department of Transportation before that.