City commissioners approved a three-year contract with new City Manager Jim Thomas upon voting to hire him last Wednesday at a special meeting.

They also had to approve it through the Kingfisher Public Works Authority, which didn’t take place until Monday.

That also happened to be Thomas’ first day on the job and his contract runs through June 30, 2026.

Thomas’ base salary will be $125,000 annually with incentives each year.

Those incentives will be “at least three important endeavors that City and Thomas agree are important to the continued growth” to the city. Each endeavor will be assigned a value between $3,000 to $5,000 and Thomas will be paid the amount if the incentive is met.

The agreement said Thomas is participating in the medical plan offered to him through his wife, but will be provided a $500 medical allowance.

He has the option to participate in the city’s retirement plan and the city will match his contributions at a 2 to 1 ratio (capped at 10 percent). If he opts to contribute to his existing retirement plan, Thomas will pay 100 percent of the contributions.

The city will also pay Thomas a $1,000 per month vehicle allowance as well as a cell phone and will pay the monthly service and usage charges for business on that phone.

Membership dues in the International City/County Managers Association and the City Manager Association of Oklahoma will be paid for by the city as will his attendance at the International City/County Managers Association Regional Conference.

The contract calls for Thomas to relocate to Kingfi sher within sixth months, but also states that period can be extended to up to one year with city commissioners’ approval.

Thomas currently lives in Metamora, Ill.

The city will pay Thomas $10,000 to aid with relocating expenses. The contract also states if Thomas is terminated, he’ll be paid a severance of six months of his base salary, which would total $62,500.

If the termination is due to any criminal act or activity that “would impinge moral turpitude or involves physical violence or intentional infliction of severe emotional distress against others,” the city can terminate Thomas’ employment immediately and will not be obligated to pay the severance.

Thomas immediately receives 160 hours of vacation time, which must be used within the first year of the contract. Any unused time will be forfeited. Thomas must also provide 90 days’ notice with a resignation.

According to city charter, the contract must be reviewed and renewed annually.