MOHAVE COUNTY — Multiple options are in play as the Mohave County Manager merry-go-round spins toward the Jan. 20 Board of Supervisors meeting. The Board first selected Brenton Davis of Pennsylvania for the county’s top administrative position on Jan. 5, but he fizzled out of the picture after an employment offer and counteroffer were rejected by the parties.
The Board on Jan. 13 approved the selection of David Strahl of Illinois as its second choice to succeed retiring county manager Sam Elters. Backup material for the Board meeting indicated that Strahl was offered an employment contract with an annual salary of $180,000 with standard benefits.
Strahl tendered a counteroffer requesting more money, additional benefits and a delayed starting date. Strahl is asking for a salary of $210,000, along with a county contribution of 5% of his salary for deferred compensation.
Strahl also wants a county-provided cell phone, 31 days PTO annually and 40 hours in his sick leave bank upon a start date he wants to kick to spring.
“I have committed to two paid vacations Jan. 15-25 and Feb. 25-March 7,” Strahl’s counteroffer reads. “Based on the time already scheduled, a start date in March would be better so that housing and moving could be coordinated around this time away.”
Board options regarding Strahl include accepting his counteroffer, extending another counteroffer involving more money and benefits and a March 26 start, or reject Strahl altogether.
Board Chairman Travis Lingenfelter has a next step proposal if Strahl is eliminated. It would put a new wrinkle in the recruitment effort by employing additional resources.
“In the event the county is unable to retain a county manager, expeditious action is necessary to identify, interview and extend an offer to a desired candidate,” Lingenfelter said, in agenda item backup. “To that end an executive recruitment agency is suited to extend the range of a general employment publication. A recruitment agency would augment, but not replace the general publication method.
A related recommended motion for Board approval is to appropriate up to $60,000 to secure a recruitment agency.
The Board will also consider extending Elter’s employment contract. It is currently set expire on Jan. 31, but Elters has repeatedly said he’d stay on board longer to provide stability in the event of a stalled successor search.
The recommended motion is for the Board to extend Elters’ contract to July 3, 2026, and possibly modify his compensation, which was just above $186,000 annually in Nov., 2023. It’s recommended that Elters be allowed to exit the modified employment agreement two weeks after a new manager would begin employment with the county.
