exh10au.htm


    Exhibit 10(au)

     

    CENTERLINE
HOLDING COMPANY

    EXECUTIVE
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

    WITH
DONALD J. MEYER

     

    ___________________________________________

    


     

    2009
Technical Amendment for Compliance

    with
Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code

     

    ___________________________________________

     

     

     

    WHEREAS, Centerline Capital
Group Inc. (“Company”) and Donald
J. Meyer (“Executive”) entered
an Executive Employment Agreement dated January 1, 2007 (as amended by a letter
agreement dated as of April 15, 2007 (the “Letter Agreement”)
between Executive and the Company, the “Agreement”);
and

     

    WHEREAS, the undersigned
parties have agreed that the Agreement should be amended to provide for a
modification to Executives base salary and the

     

    WHEREAS, Section 409A of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code”) imposes a 20%
tax plus interest and other penalties on employees who collect compensation,
severance pay, or reimbursements pursuant to employment agreements that do not
conform with the specific time of payment provisions required under Code Section
409A; and

     

    WHEREAS, the undersigned
parties to the Agreement have mutually agreed that the Agreement should be
amended, effective January 1, 2009, to comply with Code Section 409A and the
final regulations that become effective on such date.

     

    NOW, THEREFORE, the Company
and Executive, acknowledging due and adequate consideration for this 2009
Technical Amendment for Compliance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue
Code (the “Amendment”), do
hereby agree as follows:

     

    1.      Everywhere
in the Agreement, the Company’s former name, “CharterMac Capital LLC,”
shall be replaced with “Centerline Affordable Housing
Advisors LLC.” and “CharterMac,” shall be
replaced with “Centerline
Holding Company.”

     

    2.      Everywhere
in the Agreement, the phrases “termination of Executive’s
employment,” “termination,” “termination of the Executive” or “end of his employment” shall
mean Executive’s “separation from service” (as defined under Treasury Regulation
§ 1.409A-1(h) and any successor thereto) with the Company or any
affiliate.  Pursuant to such Treasury Regulation and for purposes of
this paragraph:

     

    
      
        
          
            
              	
                      (a)

                    	
                      The
      term “affiliate” shall have the meaning set forth under Code Sections
      414(b) and (c), provided that fifty (50) percent shall replace eighty (80)
      percent each place it appears (i) in Code Section 1563(a)(1), (2) and (3)
      for purposes of Code Section 414(b), and (ii) in Treasury Regulation §
      1.414(c)-2 for purposes of Code Section
414(c).

                    


            

          

        

      

    

     

    
      
        
          	
                  (b)

                	
                  A
      “separation from service” will be deemed to occur if the Company and
      Executive reasonably anticipate that Executive shall perform no further
      services for the Company (whether as an employee or an independent
      contractor) or that the level of bona fide services Executive will perform
      in the future (whether as an employee or an independent contractor) will
      permanently decrease to no more than twenty (20) percent of the average
      level of bona fide services performed (whether as an employee or
      independent contractor) over the immediately preceding 36-month
      period.

                


        

      

    

     

    
      
        
          	
                  (c)

                	
                  If
      Executive is on an authorized, bona fide leave of absence, Executive shall
      experience a “separation from service” on the first day of the seventh
      (7th) month of such leave, unless Executive’s right to reemployment with
      the Company is provided either by statute or contract.  A leave
      of absence constitutes a bona fide leave of absence only if there is a
      reasonable expectation that Executive will return to perform services for
      the Company or any of its Affiliates.  For purposes of the
      36-month period described above, (a) if Executive is on a paid bona fide
      leave of absence, Executive is treated as providing bona fide services at
      a level of services equal to that which Executive would have been required
      to perform to receive the compensation paid during the leave of absence,
      and (b) unpaid bona fide leaves of absence are
  disregarded.

                


        

      

    

     

     

     

    
      
        
        

      

      
        
        

        
          

        

      

      
        
        

      

    

     

    3.      In
EXHIBIT A, the definition of “Good Reason” shall be revised by (a) replacing
“ten (10) days” with “thirty (30) days” and (b) replacing “625 Madison Avenue,
New York, New York” with “10 South Wacker Drive, Chicago,
Illinois.”

     

    4.      Section
3(a) of the Agreement shall be amended by adding the following sentence to the
end of Section 3(a):  “The Executive agrees to a voluntary reduction
in his base salary effective January 1, 2009, to $325,000 per annum payable in
equal bi-weekly installments (not $400,000 as stated in the Letter
Agreement).  This reduction in Salary is voluntary and does not
constitute Good Reason as defined in Exhibit A of the Agreement.  The
parties agree that Executive’s principal office will be located in Chicago,
Illinois.”

     

    5.      Section
4(b) of the Agreement shall be amended by deleting the following language from
its first sentence (because Code Section 409A does not allow discretion to extend or defer the
timing of disability or severance benefits): “unless deferred or extended by the
Compensation Committee, in which case it will be the extended or deferred date
(the “Disability Payment Date”).”

     

    6.      Sections
4(d) and 4(e) of the Agreement shall be amended by adding the following new
paragraph immediately at its end:

     

    Notwithstanding
any other provision of this subsection: (i) the form of Release that the Company
requires as a condition for severance benefits to Executive hereunder shall be
delivered in final form by the Company to Executive within ten (10) days after
Executive’s termination of employment; (ii) the time period within which
Executive must deliver an executed Release (in such form as the Company has
provided) to the Company ends 60 days after Executive’s termination of
employment; and (iii) the Company’s payment of any severance benefits due upon
receipt of Executive’s executed Release shall occur within 75 days after
Executive’s termination of employment (subject to Section 10(e) of the
Agreement).

     

    7.      Section
4(d) of the Agreement shall be amended be deleting its third sentence and by
replacing that sentence with the following (in order to track the time periods
and right to cure provisions set forth in the “good reason” safe harbor set
forth in final Code Section 409A regulations):

     

    Executive
may resign if Good Reason exists, and shall do so by providing written notice
thereof to the Company not less than ten (10) days after the end of the 30-day
cure period that is set forth within the “Good Reason” definition under Exhibit
A hereof (as amended hereby); provided such resignation may not occur more than
two (2) years after the initial existence of the condition that gives rise to
the Good Reason.

     

    8.      Section
10(e) of the Agreement shall be amended by deleting its fourth sentence (which
begins “Nevertheless, if the
Company reasonably determines. . .”), and by replacing that sentence with
the following sentences:

     

    If, at
the time of Executive’s Separation from Service, the Executive is a “specified
employee” (within the meaning of Code Section 409A and Treas. Reg.
§1.409A-3(i)(2)), the Company will not pay or provide any “Specified Benefits”
(as defined herein) during the six-month period (the “409A Suspension Period”)
beginning immediately after the Executive’s Separation from
Service.  For purposes of this Agreement, “Specified Benefits” are any
amounts or benefits that would be subject to Code Section 409A penalties if the
Company were to pay them, pursuant to this Agreement, on account of the
Executive’s Separation from Service.

     

    9.      Section
10(e) of the Agreement shall be further amended by revising the start of the
former fifth sentence of its first paragraph, such that the phrase “As soon as
reasonably practicable” is replaced with the phrase “Within fourteen (14)
days”.

     

    10.    Section
10(e) of the Agreement shall be further amended by inserting the following new
paragraph immediately after its first paragraph:

     

    All
payments and benefits being provided pursuant to this Agreement are intended to
comply with (or be exempt from) Code Section 409A, and the Company shall have
complete discretion to interpret and construe this Agreement and any associated
documents in any manner that establishes an exemption from (or otherwise
conforms them to) the requirements of Code Section 409A. If, for any reason
including imprecision in drafting, the Agreement does not accurately reflect its
intended establishment of an exemption from (or compliance with) Code Section
409A, as demonstrated by consistent interpretations or other evidence of intent,
the provision shall be considered ambiguous and shall be interpreted by the
Company in a fashion consistent herewith, as determined in the sole and absolute
discretion of the Company.  The Company reserves the right to
unilaterally amend this Agreement without the consent of any Executive in order
to accurately reflect its correct interpretation and operation, as well as to
maintain an exemption from or compliance with Code Section 409A. Furthermore,
with respect to any and all reimbursements to which Executive may be entitled
under this Agreement, Executive shall apply for reimbursement not later than one
year after incurring the underlying expense, and payment shall occur as soon as
practicable thereafter, but not later than two and one-half months after the end
of the calendar year in which Executive applies for reimbursement.

     

     

    
      
        
        

      

      
        
        

        
          

        

      

      
        
        

      

    

     

    11.     All
other provisions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect, subject
only to the specific changes set forth above.

     

    WHEREFORE,
the undersigned parties to the Agreement hereby agree to and execute this
Amendment, effective January 1, 2009.

     

     

    
      	
              Date:

            	
              __________
      ___, 2008

            	 
      	
              Centerline
      Capital Group Inc.

            
	 
      	 
      	 
      	
               

              By

            	 
      
	 
      	 
      	 
      	 
      	
               

              Its

            	 
      
	 
      	 
      	 
      	 
      
	
              Date:

            	
              __________
      ___, 2008

            	 
      	
              Executive

            
	 
      	 
      	 
      	
               

              Printed
      Name: Donald J. Meyer

            
	 
      	 
      	 
      	
               

               

              Signature: