The Lady Lake Commission on Tuesday voted to pay $54,216 in severance to the outgoing town manager.
Town Manager Kris Kollgaard will retire Oct. 5 after working 26 years for Lady Lake.
“It’s a sad day, but thank you for all you’ve done,” Commissioner Ruth Kussard said to Kollgaard. “She started at the bottom and worked her way up. As far as I am concerned she has done an absolutely wonderful job.”
Kollgaard had announced in June her desire to step down, and her announcement came the same week that former Lady Lake Police Chief Chris McKinstry filed a lawsuit claiming that his ouster in 2018 was due to age discrimination. At the time, Kollgaard expressed a desire to continue to serve as the town clerk at an annual salary of $110,000. She had been performing both the town clerk and town manager jobs for an annual salary of $140,967.
A hearing in the former police chief’s age discrimination case is set for Nov. 19 in Lake County Court. Kollgaard, McKinstry’s former boss, is front and center in the lawsuit. You can read a copy of the lawsuit at this link: McKinstry age discrimination suit
