Login

Dimas OK’d for $100,000

Print

County to hold in abeyance emergency management job

The McKinley County Board of Commissioners approved an annual salary for new County Manager Anthony Dimas at the Aug. 16 regular county meeting.

Dimas, a University of New Mexico graduate, took over the top county job in mid-May after Bill Lee left for the Chamber of Commerce executive director post and won a District 3 County Commission seat, too.

When he won the commission seat, Lee said he’d vacate the manager job in order to avoid conflicts of interest.

The board met in executive session about Dimas’ new contract and emerged with some details.

McKinley County Attorney Doug Decker said:

Dimas’s three-year contract begins Aug. 21 and is for $100,000. Lee earned $93,000 in the job.

The “golden parachute” component of the contract stipulates that the county won’t engage in a cash payout, but if commissioners decide to bring aboard another manager, then Dimas carries the option of returning to his prior $79,000 emergency manager job.

Dimas was also the county’s grant director. He worked that job as well as the emergency manager position, but McKinley County has since hired a grants director, Decker said.

“During the three-year term, the county will hold the emergency manager position vacant,” Decker said.

None of the commissioners returned comments on the new contract. McKinley County Commission Chair Tony Tanner deferred comments on the contract matter to Decker.

Lee won the District 3 commission seat when Tanner, who currently holds that seat, did not run again.

Lee, who holds no prior political experience, takes office in January.

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent

Share/Save/Bookmark