(Video) Letter to the Editor on City Pay Raises & Response from Mayor – City Council Meets Tonight
February 8th, 2016 by
Monticello Live
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2 Responses to “(Video) Letter to the Editor on City Pay Raises & Response from Mayor – City Council Meets Tonight”
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As I understand it, the financial director took over (after the previous one had embezzled funds), with no pay raise to her new position. She has been doing the job with no compensation for her new title. Not many people would take on more duties without compensation for the title. If you are going to pick on a position then get the facts first!
“The economy won’t support it” Ms. Hood stated. So, we should run the risk of losing good people who handle the business of the city very well, and replace them with inexperienced people at a little above minimum wage? That sounds about how she prefers it. Each City employee should receive a cost of living increase yearly; however, if certain employees haven’t received a substantial raise in some time, then their position should be looked at. Their raise should be based on years of service, job duties and responsibilities, education, and so on. If an Administrative Assistant makes $25k annually, that’s less than $12 per hour, which is a very reasonable rate to get someone to do a job well and to remain at the job. Sure, the Mayor can hire people at $8 an hour, and the turnover will be unreal. Do we really want to have a high turnover in our Government? Shouldn’t we keep experienced people? If we choose to do that, we have to pay for it. A former Quorum Court member once told the employees of the County, “they didn’t need a raise; they needed to learn to live within their means.” This Court member was much like Ms. Hood: never had to worry about money, didn’t have to live off minimum wage, but expected others too. If our City couldn’t afford the adjustments in compensation, then our Mayor, finance director, and council wouldn’t be discussing them. Ms. Hood, I’m sure that the city employees wish they could sustain the lifestyle in which you are accustom to; however that isn’t possible, even if they all received a 36% salary increase.