When Frisco City Manager Wes Pierson’s compensation reportedly climbed from $285,000 to $469,000, Frisco Chronicles decided it was time to stop looking at the headline number and start reading the fine print. What do taxpayers get for that price tag? We’re taking a deep dive into Pierson’s employment contracts, examining not only his salary increases but also the additional benefits, financial perks, and protections built into his agreement. What happens if the city decides to terminate his employment? What does his termination clause require taxpayers to pay? And what provisions might have significant financial consequences that residents have never been told about?

Public service comes with public accountability. When taxpayer dollars fund an executive compensation package of this magnitude, residents deserve more than a number buried in a budget. They deserve to know what was negotiated, what changed, and who approved it. Because when it comes to spending taxpayer money, the fine print matters.

Pierson’s Original Employment Contract – June 2022

The original contract from June 2022 reveals considerably more than a $285,000 annual salary. It establishes performance-based compensation, a substantial vehicle allowance, generous personal leave, retirement and deferred-compensation benefits, relocation assistance, and a potential 12-month severance payment if the city terminates its employment under the circumstances described in the agreement.

Breakdown Original Annual Base Salary: $285,000

Annual Vehicle Allowance: $15,600

Maximum Annual Performance Bonus: $28,500

Maximum Objectives/Projects Payments: $20,000

Potential annual cash compensation under the original terms, assuming maximum performance and project payments: $349,100

NOTE: Calculated as $285,000 base salary + $15,600 vehicle allowance + $28,500 performance bonus + $20,000 project payments. This number excludes retirement contributions, insurance, other benefits and any subsequent contract changes.

Performance Bonuses, Objectives/Projects Payments

Section 4 of Wes Pierson’s contract establishes an annual performance-based income program beginning January 1, 2023. Pierson’s evaluation instrument uses a 36-point scoring system.

It is important to point out that Mayor and City Council are responsible for evaluating City Manager, Wes Pierson’s performance. That means Pierson has every reason to do what the council wants versus what is right by taxpayers. The contract also provides additional payments for objectives/projects assigned by the City Council that are completed to the council’s satisfaction.

Frisco Chronicles would like to know what type of projects qualified for additional compensation? Again, it is important to note the judge, and jury is the council, which means Pierson has 28,500 reasons to do what the council wants versus what is right by taxpayers.

Other Benefits

Other highlights of Wes Pierson’s contract include 32 Personal Leave Days Per Year and upon termination, Pierson can receive payment of accrued personal leave days up to 90 days per year. He also has two weeks’ vacation.  

The agreement separately references accrued, unpaid personal leave, vacation and sick leave in its termination provisions and the precise payout calculation for each.

Section 5 states he has a vehicle allowance of up to $15,600 per year paid in equal installments which works out to be about $1300 per month. Frisco Chronicles would like to know if there are any separate reimbursements for travel or mileage?

Sections 9 and 10 contain additional benefits that are easy to overlook when looking only at salary. The city agrees to budget and pay reasonable costs for Pierson’s membership in International City/County Management Association, Texas City Management Association, North Texas City Management Association, Two additional civic clubs or professional organizations.

The city also agrees to budget and pay reasonable professional-development and official-travel expenses, including eligible conferences, courses, institutes and seminars. Official travel and professional-development expenses are subject to City Council review and approval as specified in the contract.

One provision deserves particular attention: Frisco agrees to pay the air travel and subsistence expenses of Pierson’s spouse to attend one annual event sponsored by the International City/County Management Association.

Section 11 requires Frisco to provide and pay the premiums for hospitalization, surgical and comprehensive medical insurance for Pierson, his wife, and his dependent children under age 26 who are claimed as dependent.

Section 12 states Pierson also has the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) which the city contributes annually to. The contract states that this contribution is additional to his salary and is paid in equal quarterly installments, beginning October 31, 2022, or as otherwise agreed by the parties. It also states that the contribution expires immediately if the agreement and employment are terminated pursuant to Section 3.

Section 14 requires Pierson to become a Frisco resident within 24 months of his start date and remain a resident during his tenure. The city also agrees to reimburse necessary and reasonable expenses associated with finding and purchasing a home and moving Pierson’s family and belongings not to exceed $15,000.

Termination or Voluntary Resignation

Section 3 establishes different outcomes depending on how employment ends. For example, if the city terminates Pierson, Section 3A provides him with a lump-sum severance payment equal to 12 months of his current annual base salary and 12 months of the city’s health insurance contribution.

Wait, what? We are paying him 1 full year of compensation and free health care for a year if we FIRE HIM? How does that benefit Taxpayers?

First Amended Employment Contract – March 2025

March 4, 2025, First Amended Employment Agreement between the City of Frisco and City Manager Wes Pierson is not simply a new salary agreement. It changes some important financial protection while leaving most of his day-to-day benefits intact.

The most significant change is in the termination provisions: the amended agreement expressly adds one year of car allowance to the benefits payable if the City Council terminates Pierson while he is willing and able to perform his duties. It also clarifies that the amended terms take effect March 4, 2025.

Important Contract Changes:

Performance Bonus: The amended salary section omits that performance-payment program.

Project/objective payments: In the March 2025 contract there is no equivalent project-payment provision that appears in the amended salary section.

Severance: In addition to the original contract that had 12 months of then-current base salary, eligible accrued leave, and 12 months of health-insurance contributions, the new contract adds payment equal to one year of car allowance.

Relocation Assistance: Removed from new contract

Second Amended Employment Contract – August 2025

The Second Amended Employment Agreement dated August 19, 2025, fills an important gap in the contract. The first change is to his Salary, and his relocation benefit is removed since Pierson now lives within the city. One of the most consequential provisions is the termination package.

Salary Changes

In the second amended employment contract the Performance Pay and Projects and Objective Pay disappear. The March 2025 amended agreement’s Section 4 contains the base salary and annual salary-increase language but does not reproduce either of these additional compensation programs.

Severance Becomes More Valuable

If the City Council terminates Pierson while he is willing and able to perform his duties, the agreement calls for a lump sum payment in the amount of 12 months of his then-current base salary, all eligible accrued leave, payment equal to one year of car allowance, and 12 months of the City’s health-insurance contribution.

Yes, you are reading that right! If the City of Frisco terminates the City Manager, TAXPAYERS will pay the price. For example, if he were terminated tomorrow – the city would have to pay him $400,000+ dollars just in a lump sum salary payment plus an additional 15,600 car allowance, all eligible accrued vacation, leave and personal days, and 12 months of his health insurance coverage. That could be well over ½ million dollars taxpayers are on the hook for!

In Section B of the Termination Clause the words for “MISCONDUCT” was added into the language.

Under Section B, if the city terminates Pierson for cause, conduct and/or voluntarily resigns then the city does not have to pay 1-year salary. Taxpayers are still on the hook for all accrued but unpaid personal leave, vacation, sick leave allowed in the current Frisco policies.

The agreement also preserves a potential severance entitlement if the City reduces his salary or other financial benefits by a greater percentage than an across-the-board reduction for all Frisco employees, subject to the contract’s conditions and 30-day deadline.

In Closing: The Fine Print Is the Point

Wes Pierson’s employment contracts tell a much bigger story than a city manager’s salary climbing from $285,000 to a reported $469,000. They reveal a compensation package shaped by amendments, benefits, retirement contributions, leave provisions, and termination protections that deserve public scrutiny.

To be clear, employment contracts are not inherently improper, and severance provisions are not unusual for executive positions. The question is whether the terms negotiated on behalf of Frisco taxpayers are reasonable, necessary, and in the public interest.

Perhaps the most important question concerns accountability. The City Council is responsible for evaluating the city manager, determining his compensation, and making decisions about his continued employment. When the same council controls his performance evaluations and potential bonuses, residents have every reason to demand transparency about how those decisions are made and what standards are applied.

Then there is the termination clause. If Pierson were terminated under circumstances that trigger the contractual severance provisions, Frisco could face a substantial financial obligation beyond his regular salary. The final cost would depend on his salary at the time, eligible accrued leave, the applicable vehicle allowance, and the city’s health-insurance contribution. Taxpayers deserve a clear accounting of that potential liability before the city ever has to write the check.

Frisco Chronicles is not suggesting that a contractual benefit proves wrongdoing. We are asking whether the people paying for those benefits have been given enough information to judge the deal for themselves. A $469,000 compensation package is not just a personnel matter. It is a public expenditure. Every amendment matters. Every benefit has a cost. Every decision made behind a negotiation table deserves scrutiny when public money is involved.

Frisco residents should not have to piece together an executive’s compensation package one contract at a time to understand what their government has agreed to pay. The City Council negotiated the terms. The city manager receives the benefits. And Frisco taxpayers help foot the bill.

So here is the question that remains: Who is looking out for the taxpayers when the city negotiates its own leadership’s compensation?