In July 2007, when he was offered the job of BWL General Manager, J. Peter Lark was chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission, getting a salary of $120,000. He had no prior experience at running a utility. Before he was appointed chairman of the PSC, he worked as an attorney. His background is described in an October 2007 MSU University Club newsletter announcing his upcoming luncheon speech:
Initial employment agreement. BWL commissioners offered Lark the General Manager job at a salary of $185,000. He apparently made a counter offer. The following is from the minutes of the July 2, 2007 Executive Committee meeting:
So he got the $190,000, but not the severance agreement. And it looked like he wasn't going to get his way on the benefit plan start date, but there was a "clarification" at the July 17, 2007 Committee of the Whole meeting:
Making a special exception for Lark and bypassing the standard 6-month probationary period for DC participation gave him another $11,020 in his first year. (The BWL contribution to the DC accounts of exempt employees is 11.6%; 11.6% of $190,000 is $22,040; $22,040 divided by 2 is $11,020.) Skipping the probationary period was not mentioned in the employment agreement Lark signed 7/2/07. The 7/2/07 employment agreement did say (on page 2) that he gets 5 weeks of vacation and 6 days free choice time in his first year. All employees get 6 days free choice time in their first year, but regular employees don't get any vacation until after their first year, and they don't get 5 weeks vacation - 25 days - until they've worked 20 years. 2008 employment agreement. A year later, he got his severance agreement and more. After what must have been a glorious performance review, the commissioners approved a resolution to extend his contract for one year, increase his salary from $190,000 to $239,000 and increase the contribution to his DC account from 11.6% to 15%. Should his employment agreement be terminated, he would get six months severance pay, six months employer-paid health insurance and outplacement services valued up to $6000. Commissioners also resolved to consider a multi-year contract. The extra 3.4% contribution to Lark's DC plan is worth $8,126 a year, and it is tax-deferred. Add $8,126 to his $49,000 salary increase and you get a total increase in yearly compensation of $57,126. And then there is the "outplacement services". Here is how outplacement services are defined at the site USLegal.com:
It appears that if Lark's contract is terminated, BWL is obligated to find him another job. It is hard for me to imagine how that would work. My guess is it is one of those extravagant perks that U.S. corporate executives ask for when they've got everything else. 2009 employment agreement. Lark got no salary increase in the 2009 employment agreement, but he did get that multi-year contract - 3 years - and with it, a much more generous severance pay provision. It went from 6 months pay to "payment for the remainder of the term of employment", which started at 3 years on July 1, 2009 and diminishes as time passes. For example, if he gets terminated December 31, 2009 he would get paid for 2.5 years, or $597,500. This was just 5 months after the articles in the Lansing State Journal questioning expensive payouts to former BWL executives (see The July 2007 Massacre). 2012 employment agreement. This time, Lark got a salary increase from $239,000 to $248,560 and an increase in the term of the contract from 3 to 5 years. The severance agreement stays the same: If terminated "at will" (without cause), he gets payment for the remainder of the term of the contract. With a 5-year contract, this could mean a heftier severance payment. For example, if he was fired on July 1, 2013 (4 years left on his contract), the payout would be $994,240. On top of that, he would get paid his accumulated vacation and "free choice" time, 6 months of COBRA and outplacement services valued up to $6000. If terminated "for cause", the severance would be the same except instead of payment for the remainder of the term, he'd get only 6 months salary - a mere $124,280. Also, the employer contribution to his defined contribution plan increases from 15% of base salary to 18.5%, for a total contribution of $45,983.60 a year. And if all that isn't enough to "incentivize the Employee to remain employed with the LBWL until June 30, 2016" the Employer will credit the following amounts to a deferred compensation account for the benefit of the employee:
To sum up:
The contract was signed May 15, 2012. It was approved by the Board's Human Resources Committee on May 22 after Mr. Lark received his performance evaluation in closed session. It was approved by resolution by the entire Board on July 24. Board meeting minutes provide no contract details other than the expiration date. Expense reports. All 4 of Lark's employment agreements included reimbursement for "reasonable, necessary and authorized expenses incurred in the course of performing his duties." They also included "membership at the University Club and one other business or civic club". Lark chose the Lansing Country Club as his "other" club. He claims reimbursement for club dues and other expenses on quarterly expense reports. His reports for 11/08-9/09 are here. Lark's Contract Under Fire - Lansing State Journal, January 18, 2015 BWL OKs $650,000 settlement with Lark - Lansing State Journal, May 19, 2015 |
Lark is a
1973 honors graduate of Boston College, and received a law degree
from Western New England College School of Law in 1976. He went on
to serve as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Wayne County.