Morgan Smith will take over as Bainbridge Island’s new city manager.

Smith, who is currently the city’s deputy city manager, was given the council’s OK for the position Tuesday after she agreed to take a smaller severance package than the one offered in an agreement that was rejected by the council last week.

Promoting Smith to the post did not come without some dissension on the council.

The council voted 5-2 to approve a two-year manager’s contract with Smith, with Councilwoman Rasham Nassar and Councilman Ron Peltier voting no.

Nassar repeatedly criticized the new contract before Tuesday’s vote, faulting the process to bring a revised agreement back before the council and also suggesting it was illegal.

She also asked for the vote to be delayed a week to give the public time to weigh in on the contract.

Promoting Smith to the city manager’s position was a complete turnaround from last week’s rejection of a contract for Smith, Nassar said, and she added that some residents have told her they were very confused about the council’s reversal.

“We’ve done a complete 180,” Nassar said. “A lot of people are scrambling to figure out what is going on.”

Last week, the council failed to find the votes needed to pass a proposed contract for Smith, who has worked for the city as deputy city manager since October 2010.

The council faulted that first draft agreement for including a severance package where Smith would have her contract paid out if she was fired without cause, and she would continue to get her city manager’s salary through Dec. 31, 2020.

But after last week’s rejection of the first contract, Deputy Mayor Joe Deets went back to the negotiating table with Smith and came up with a revised version, one that would cut the length of the severance package from 27 months to 18 months.

Mayor Kol Medina told the council Tuesday that the new contract was one that Smith would accept.

Councilwoman Sarah Blossom said there should be no confusion over the contract, and that the council’s approach was pretty straightforward.

“I don’t think people should be confused,” Blossom said, noting that additional negotiations led to an agreement that both sides would support.

“I don’t think it should be that difficult to understand what’s happening here. I don’t have any problem voting on it tonight,” Blossom said.

Nassar also raised concerns about passing the contract during a study session, instead of a regular business meeting, but that notion was also rejected by her colleagues on the council.

“I’d like to vote on this now,” said Deets.

“Let’s vote. This is our job as council members,” he said. “I’m prepared to move forward.”

Not everyone was. Peltier was also opposed to the new agreement, and attempted to amend the contract to shorten the length of the contract’s severance package.

But others on the council noted that Smith wouldn’t sign such an agreement, and added that Bainbridge’s history of ousting city managers made the length of the severance package a sensible solution.

“If you look at it from Morgan’s perspective, it’s completely understandable why she wants what she wants,” Blossom said. “She has been here; she has experienced city managers being fired and what happens.”

Blossom said Peltier’s amendment was “nitpicking” and an attempt to force Smith into accepting contract terms she didn’t want.

Councilman Matthew Tirman said he supported the contract, and having Smith as manager would provide the city stability and continuity for its 2019 work plan.

“I was not happy with the first contract. The fact that Morgan showed a willingness to negotiate, it helped me some,” Tirman said.

“It’s not great,” he said of the contract.

“No negotiation ever comes out where you want it to be; it’s a give-and-take. This is not my ideal,” Tirman said. “But I do think it’s best for the community and it’s best for the council.

Deets also opposed Peltier’s amendment.

“I don’t think there’s much point. We know what the answer is going to be,” Deets said.

Still, Nassar suggested the new contract should have had greater council involvement. She complained that she did not have a chance to talk to Smith about the new agreement, and she questioned the legality of a council member negotiating a contract in private and then bringing it back to the council for a vote.

“I don’t feel settled about it. I feel very rushed into this decision,” she said, urging again for a week delay on the vote.

“I feel professionally, I’m being mistreated,” Nassar added. “If I am wrong, please correct me.”

City Attorney Joe Levan, however, noted that past councils had taken similar approaches on negotiations over contracts, with subcommittees taking up such things on behalf of the entire council.

“There’s no legal issue there,” Levan said. “There’s nothing illegal about any council member bringing a proposal to the council to consider.”

Deets also noted that Nassar could have talked to Smith earlier if she wanted.

“Rasham, you could have called Morgan just as I did. Nothing stopped you,” he said.

“She’s on vacation,” Nassar replied.

“So? I called her. And she was happy to take the call. You could have done that,” Deets replied.

Nassar and Peltier voted against the contract on the ensuing vote.

Under the new agreement, Smith will be city manager starting Oct. 3, and the contract runs through Dec. 31, 2020.

The base salary for the new contract is set at $174,000, but would rise to $184,000 in six months “upon a determination by the city council that the employee has successfully performed the functions of the city manager position.”