GREEN RIVER – The annual publication of the City of Green River’s salaries raised some eyebrows Thursday when residents took note of a near quarter-million-dollar salary attributed to City Administrator Reed Clevenger.

Clevenger’s salary was listed at $237,462, a $54,861 increase over the salary reported last year, which was $182,601. That increase is due to an error according to Cari Kragovich, the city’s human resources director.

“His contract is not $240,000 by any means,” Kragovich said.

She said the salaries listed included benefits, as well as paid compensation. The financial value of those benefits wasn’t intended to be part of the salaries reported. The legal notice states the salaries reported did not include additional compensation such as health insurance and pension plans. Kragovich said the error was generated as she was attempting to produce the legal notice in time for the Green River Star’s publication deadline. She also said the error wasn’t contained to only Clevenger’s salary listing.

“I should have caught that almost immediately,” she said.

The error was discovered Thursday morning when the weekly newspaper was being distributed. She said the city will have an updated salary list published in the coming weeks.

While the sudden increase reflected in Clevenger’s salary Thursday was an error, his compensation has increased over the past few years. According to salary information on the city’s website, his annual salary grew from $157,838 in fiscal year 2022 to $172,473 for the current fiscal year.

Mayor Pete Rust defended Clevenger’s salary, saying high-level employees command larger salaries in the area, which results in a higher cost to recruit and retain talent.

“You have to look at the market in this area,” Rust said. “We try to be competitive with our salary without being excessive.”

Clevenger isn’t a standard city employee as he answers directly to Rust and the Green River City Council. A contract is drafted between the city and Clevenger, which dictates his responsibilities and compensation. The contract duration is for three fiscal years, with the current contract expiring June 30, 2025.

Rust said Clevenger has experience in several areas that a normal public administrator doesn’t have.  Much of his experience is focused on business, according to information found on Clevenger’s LinkedIn profile. Clevenger’s experience includes positions at Nike; being a managing member of OBX Capital Group; serving as COO and board member for Rival Sport, LLC, an apparel brand owned jointly by the NHL; cofounder and COO of Twongo, LLC, which is described as a “big deal of the day” website; and president of Ikeeps, Inc., a manufacturing and distribution company focused on contact lens cases and glasses containers.

Clevenger’s experience working in public organizations begins with the executive director role for the Sweetwater One Foundation. He was hired by the organization in October 2012 and left to become Green River’s city administrator in March 2015.

Rust said Clevenger has done a great job during the past eight years, saying his opinions are highly respected and sought after locally. Rust also said Clevenger’s wide base of experience has benefited the city numerous times, especially in areas of cost savings.

“Reed has done an amazing job saving the city money,” Rust said.