AUBURN – Councilors made it official Monday, naming Glenn Aho their next city manager.

Councilors agreed to give Aho a $103,000 salary with normal health benefits, life insurance and stipends for a cell phone and a car. The contract also provides moving expenses, temporary housing expenses and money for conferences and dues for professional organizations.

“We’ve talked to other communities, and this is essentially a boiler-plate contract,” Mayor John Jenkins said.

It’s a three-year contract, however, councilors will renegotiate it each year. Councilors can terminate the contract, agreeing to pay a six-month severance package unless there is “serious misconduct” or Aho terminates the deal himself.

Only Councilor Robert Hayes voted against accepting Aho’s employment agreement. But Hayes said he dissented to make a point and urge Aho and his fellow councilors to come up with some concrete plans for the city.

“I challenge you to harness positively the energy of this diverse and difficult council toward a well-defined goal and achievable objective,” Hayes said.

Hayes said councilors each have their individual goals for the city, but they haven’t settled on a set off common goals.

“That’s going to be the challenge for Mr. Aho and for this council: To define what we really want to happen,” he said.

Aho, 38, has been Lincoln’s town manager since 1995. He grew up in Bridgewater, in Aroostook County, and has an undergraduate degree from the University of Maine at Presque Isle and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Maine. Before taking the job in Lincoln, he worked as an administrative assistant to the Brewer city manager.

Aho spent part of Monday afternoon in Auburn, but returned to Lincoln before the meeting was finished. He’s working on that town’s budget and said he hopes to have it settled before the end of May.

That will free him up come to Auburn, possibly early in June.

“I have one transition going, an exit transition from Lincoln, and now I get to start planning an entrance transition into Auburn,” he said.

The contract also requires Aho be an Auburn resident. Aho, who is single with no children, said he plans to purchase a home in Auburn soon after taking the city manager’s job.