Council ousts Pasco city manager early. His new job doesn’t start for 2 months
Pasco City Manager Adam Lincoln has left the city earlier than expected.
The Pasco City Council decided at a special council meeting Monday to terminate Lincoln’s employment early with the city. His last day is Jan. 31.
Lincoln recently was hired as the Port of Pasco’s executive director and is set to start in March. He is taking over for longtime Executive Director Randy Hayden who is retiring in March.
Lincoln announced his resignation from the city on Jan. 17, giving the city the 60 day-notice called for in his contract. His last day at the city would be March 18.
In response, the council reached a consensus last week to try to end Lincoln’s contract early, per an early release clause.
A special meeting agenda sent to the media and public Friday evening said the council “wishes to utilize the provisions of Section 10 of the (City Manager Employment) Agreement to allow Lincoln to complete his obligations to the city on Jan. 31, 2025.”
Councilman Leo Perales told the Herald over the weekend that he believes the council made this decision to establish “continuity” for the city’s government. Perales said the council had a “thoughtful discussion” about Lincoln during its executive session on Jan. 21 and said council members and city staff communicated about the situation throughout the week.
He declined to discuss which council members proposed terminating Lincoln early, but said that a majority of the council agrees with the decision.
The council also agreed to contract with Snoqualmie-based GMP Consultants for interim city manager services until the city conducts a formal search for a new city manager.
A GMP Consultants employee would be appointed as Pasco’s interim city manager on Jan. 31 and would be paid more per hour than Lincoln was based on documents attached to the meeting agenda.
The proposed hourly rate for the interim city manager is $175 per hour based on an annual salary of $336,700. The city also would pay for occasional overnight accommodations and mileage reimbursement.
Lincoln’s original contract sets his annual base salary is $218,000.
The city will pay his salary and benefits from Jan. 31 to March 18.
Lincoln joined Pasco in 2020 as deputy city manager and was appointed city manager in April 2023.
This story was originally published January 26, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
