The Crestwood Board of Aldermen voted 7-0 Tuesday night to adopt an ordinance approving a $5,000 salary increase for City Administrator Kris Simpson.
Ward 2 Alderman Mary Stadter was absent.
The ordinance was adopted with no discussion as part of the board’s consent agenda, along with several other items.

Look for complete coverage in the Dec. 21 print edition of the Call. Below is the story from the Call’s Dec. 14 print edition.

By Mike Anthony
Executive Editor
news1@callnewspapers.com

An ordinance approving a $5,000 salary increase for City Administrator Kris Simpson was scheduled to be considered earlier this week by the Crestwood Board of Aldermen.

Aldermen were set to meet Tuesday night — after the Call went to press.

If the ordinance is approved, the city administrator’s salary will increase to $101,500 from $96,500. Simpson has served as city administrator since Jan. 4, 2016. The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously during a Dec. 15, 2015, closed session to hire Simpson at a salary of $93,500.
Last December, aldermen increased Simpson’s salary to $96,500.

Under the terms of Simpson’s contract with the city, Mayor Gregg Roby and the Board of Aldermen “shall endeavor to review and evaluate the performance of the city administrator at least once annually in accordance” with the city Charter. “Such review and evaluation shall be in accordance with specific criteria developed by the city, which may be modified or amended from time to time. Further, the mayor shall provide (the) city administrator with a written summary of the evaluation findings of the city and provide adequate opportunity for (the) city administrator to discuss his evaluation with the mayor and Board of Aldermen,” Simpson’s contract states.

The ordinance proposing to increase Simpson’s salary states city officials have conducted a review of his “compensation and performance as city administrator.” Based on the review, “the Board of Aldermen finds and declares that Mr. Simpson’s annual compensation should be increased to $101,500,” the proposed ordinance states. The increase would be effective Jan. 1.

The proposed measure also states, “… The Board of Aldermen has since amended the city code to provide that formal adoption of the compensation by ordinance is no longer required, and the Board of Aldermen recognizes that future compensation may be set by action of the Board of Aldermen without adoption of an ordinance, if the board so desires … All terms and conditions of the employment agreement with Mr. Simpson approved by the Board of Aldermen on Dec. 15, 2015, shall remain in full force and effect, except as modified by this ordinance.”

In hiring Simpson initially, the board waived the city’s residency requirement for the city administrator, as requested by Roby. Simpson replaced Mark Sime, who resigned in October 2015 after serving as city administrator since January 2013.

Before coming to Crestwood, Simpson had served as assistant to the city administrator of Maryland Heights since May 2013. He also worked as an unpaid intern for the city of Chesterfield before being hired there in February 2012 as a management analyst/assistant to the city administrator.