Long time Cape Coral employee Michael Ilczyszyn becomes city manager at $285,000/year
Cape Coral City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to hire 20-year employee Michael Ilczyszyn as permanent city manager.
Ilczyszyn's new annual salary is $285,000 and will be retroactively applied as of February 17, 2023. His salary as interim city manager was $220,000.
Ilczyszyn will oversee the community's government, with more than 1,800 regular and contract employees and a budget of more than $1 billion in a city of 216,992 population.
His initial contract as city manager will last four years and expire on Sept. 19, 2027.
Previous Coverage Interim Cape Coral City Manager upgrades to permanent role; contract talks pending
Related Michael Ilczyszyn appointed Interim Cape Coral City Manager
The terms will be automatically renewed for successive two-year periods unless the council or city manager gives notice of non-renewal at least 120 days before the expiration of the current term.
After 12 months and every 12 months after, the city council can review and increase the base salary based on performance.
If terminated without cause, he will be paid a severance of four months of his base salary.
His background
Ilczyszyn has been the city's acting interim city manager since February after the firing of the previous city manager, Rob Hernandez.
Hernandez's time as city manager ended when the council denied renewing his contract in a 5-3 vote. They fired him two weeks later.
Ilczyszyn is a Mariner High School graduate, who graduated magna cum laude with a degree in environmental studies and a master’s degree in public administration from Florida Gulf Coast University. He served in the Navy on the USS Yorktown.
The city hired Ilczyszyn as a water plant operator trainee in 2002, and he moved through the public works department until becoming assistant city manager in 2015.
In 2018, Ilczyszyn was demoted to a position within the public works department after the city investigated an affair he had with another city employee.
However, he would go on to become the public works director for the city in 2022.
Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Interim Cape Coral City Manager hired to permanent role
