Salary, perks add up for ECC chief

Elgin Community College trustees Tuesday approved a new three-year contract -- complete with a raise and new perks -- for President David Sam, who has been on the job for one year.

Sam's total compensation this year, with salary and benefits, will total more than $260,000.

Sam's salary will increase 5.5 percent, from $175,000 to $184,625.

The new contract adds a $18,500 annual housing allowance and $10,000 annual annuity to his previous package.

He will continue to receive a $500 monthly car allowance for business and personal use. The college will provide Sam with a college-owned computer and printer for his home office. It also will provide him with a cell phone.

Sam also will be paid a $1,000 monthly stipend for nonreimbursable business expenses, which will help him "support and promote the mission of the college," the contract states.

That stipend, not in Sam's original 2007 contract, was approved by the board in November.

Sam's new contract entitles him to reimbursement for "reasonable business expenses incurred in the exercise of his duties as president, subject to providing proof of expenditures."

The stipend would cover additional activities that Sam would not otherwise be reimbursed for, said Anthony Spahr, ECC managing director of human resources.

"Some of them might not be reimbursable," Spahr said. "For example, there might be a political speaker at the event, so a college employee can't request reimbursement, but it's important for the college to be represented at those kind of activities."

Sam had a similar reimbursement provision in his previous contract at North Harris College in Texas, Spahr said.

Spahr said the board hired Sam, in part, because he had a strong reputation for interacting with the community.

Beginning his tenure at ECC Feb. 12, 2007, Sam's original three-year contract, "from a legal perspective, probably wasn't as well-written as it should be," Spahr said.

Robert Getz was the sole trustee to vote against the new contract.

"I think (Sam) is doing a very fine job," Getz said. "I just personally felt the compensation package was excessive and I could not support it."

Phyllis Folarin, ECC board chairman, said Wednesday she believes Sam is "a tremendous asset to the ECC community."

The compensation package, Folarin said, was "very fair."

Sam's new contract expires Jan. 31, 2011.