PROPOSAL WOULD GIVE STUCKEY CONSULTING PAY CONTRACT CONTINGENT UPON DROPPING TERMINATION APPEAL.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

Fired Animal Services Director Guerdon Stuckey would be paid $50,000 under a 12-week consulting contract in exchange for dropping the appeal challenging his termination under a plan to be considered today by the City Council.

Under a proposed contract, Stuckey would begin work on Feb. 5 as a consultant, reporting to Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller.

``What the contract says is that he would be involved in a host of issues to be determined relating to development and outreach,'' Miller said. ``The specific tasks will be negotiated.''

Neither Stuckey nor his attorney, Edward Lear, returned telephone calls. Officials with the Mayor's Office said they would wait to comment until after the City Council acts. The council has until Wednesday to make a final decision on Stuckey's removal.

Following his termination on Dec. 15, Stuckey had sought a severance package that would have totaled 11 months of his $154,000-a-year salary.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa rejected that demand and a majority of City Council members were said to be supporting him in resisting such a high payout.

But City Councilman Bernard Parks was open about efforts to reach a compromise with Stuckey, who had said he had been offered job security by aides to former Mayor James Hahn when he took the post a year ago.

Stuckey became a controversial figure and a target for extremists in the animal-rights community, with him being a victim of a smoke bomb at his downtown apartment. His wife was so fearful that she left the city.

Stuckey also complained that the way he was removed hurt his ability to find another job with a city government.

The contract to be considered by the council takes note that he lost his job because of a change in mayoral administrations and that he is ``particularly qualified'' for a management job.

The action is expected to generate further controversy within the animal rights community. During the hearing in which Stuckey made his appeal, several people spoke out against any severance for him.

However, Phyllis Dougherty of the Animal Issues Movement said he should not be penalized because of circumstances.

``I am concerned about the reputation the city will get if it just dismisses someone in this fashion,'' Dougherty said. ``A lot of us in the animal-rights movement thought he was what was needed when he was first hired. It was only later that people became upset.''

Stuckey's job performance was an issue during the mayoral campaign last year, when Villaraigosa pledged to remove him. After becoming mayor, however, Villaraigosa held off on the decision, saying he wanted to give Stuckey more time on the job.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com