He worked for the county 7 months. He got $65,000 in 6 weeks.

The man who served as Sedgwick County’s first deputy county manager saw his compensation more than double around the time that he resigned after seven months on the job.

Tom Golden resigned as deputy county manager on May 5.

He got more than $65,000 in compensation over a six-week period that led up to and followed his resignation. That’s more than twice what he received the previous four months.

As of April 29, a week before his resignation, Golden’s compensation for the year was $44,934.77, including benefits, according to county records obtained by The Eagle. By June 10, it had more than doubled to $110,002. That’s a difference of $65,067.23.

It’s not clear how much of that $65,067.23 was received through a severance agreement or through his final week of work.

Several sources in county government told The Eagle that Golden received roughly $40,000 through the settlement agreement.

The Eagle asked for settlements and severance package agreements the county has reached with former employees in the manager’s office since Golden’s resignation.

But Sedgwick County would not release documents beyond salaries, benefits and job description information, because “doing so would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, as expressed by Mr. Golden,” Eileen McNichol, the county’s chief human resources officer, wrote in response to The Eagle’s request.

Severance payments aren’t uncommon when employees leave large organizations. Chris Chronis, the county’s chief financial officer since 1999, signed an agreement to receive nearly $69,000 in payments following his December resignation. That’s according to a settlement the county released to The Eagle this spring.

County Manager Michael Scholes said Golden did receive a severance agreement but wouldn’t say how much it was worth. Scholes said he didn’t want to discuss personnel matters, including information about specific agreements. He said Golden “didn’t waive his rights to privacy.”

“He wanted us to respect his privacy, and we’re going to do that,” Scholes said. “I’m not going to talk about what’s in the agreement.”

Golden was named to the position last August and began work in September. His annualized salary as of a May document was $141,814.

Before joining the county, Golden was a command chief warrant officer in the Georgia Army National Guard finishing up a 32-year military career as a helicopter and airplane pilot. He also worked in Rockdale County government in the Atlanta suburbs.

Golden, like Scholes, served in the Georgia Army National Guard at various times throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Scholes said they met each other in the military four assignments ago.

“Obviously, he knew me and he saw that the position was open,” Scholes said. “He had the unique skill-set in terms of working in county government before. … In this case, he rose to the top in the interview process.”

The deputy county manager position was created last year as part of Scholes’ restructuring of the organization. The deputy manager serves as a high-level director and chief of staff within the organization, overseeing departments that perform the county’s facility, technology, auditing, development and strategic planning efforts.

Golden received $49,824 in salary and benefits in 2016, according to public records.

Tom Stolz is now the county’s interim deputy county manager.

This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 6:50 AM with the headline "He worked for the county 7 months. He got $65,000 in 6 weeks.."