Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Jerry Forte received $61,715 in incentive pay this year, a nearly 20 percent drop from his 2011 payout.

Forte is eligible for “short-term” incentive pay awarded right away and “long-term” incentive pay rolled into his supplemental executive retirement account.

This year, the short-term incentive pay was $31,549.50 and long-term totaled $30,165.75.

“These awards have been calculated and administered in accordance with the CEO’s contract and his performance results. The payouts occurred on April 6, 2012,” Utilities spokesman Steve Berry said Monday in an email.

The City Council, acting as the Utilities Board, approves Forte’s performance evaluation.

According to the Utilities Board March 21 agenda, Forte received a performance rating of “meets expectations,” “exceeds expectations” and “superior performance” in every category but one.

For the “Days Cash on Hand” category, Forte received a rating of “improvement necessary.”

The four-service utility, which is owned by the city, has a target range of 61 to 75 days cash on hand.

“The 2011 result is 58.93 days,” the agenda states.

When asked why Forte received nearly $15,000 less in incentive pay this year compared to the year before, Berry said it was “most likely due to a slight difference in where he landed on the metrics.”

Forte was hired as Utilities’ chief operating officer in January 2002 making $175,000 a year. He was promoted to CEO in December 2005 with an annual salary of $270,000. Forte’s current annual salary of $276,750 hasn’t changed since 2007.

Since 2002, Forte has received nearly $553,000 total in incentive pay.

Jerry Forte Photo by