Benefiting from Belt-Tightening
On Wednesday, an editorial in the Roseburg News-Review rightfully praised some folks in Douglas County for their efforts to keep a few county parks open.
Several county parks that had been slated for closure were saved at the 11th hour by a combination of volunteers who selflessly came forward to help, and by outsourcing maintenance services to a company that is able to provide upkeep a little cheaper than the county.
Iverson Memorial Park on Coos Bay Wagon Road in the Callahans, Cavitt Creek Park and North Myrtle Park east of Myrtle Creek — all due to close at the end of June — will now have volunteers mow the grass and perform other light maintenance duties. Groups of citizens in each of those areas contacted Parks Director Jim Dowd and offered to help. We appreciate their efforts.
And High Lakes Sanitation of Idleyld Park has begun emptying trash, picking up litter outside buildings and restocking toilet paper and paper towels at several parks outside Glide.
The company is being paid $10,000 a year, less than the $12,000 it cost to send a parks employee and truck over the same route two days a week.
I wonder how those folks feel now.
After trimming Douglas County’s budget by $8.4 million and cutting 59 positions due to a revenue shortfall caused by the loss of the federal timber safety net, commissioners said Wednesday they will look at boosting the county’s salary schedule.
With fewer employees, the county will expect some of those who remain to do more work. To prevent having those workers leave for other jobs, the commissioners said they have to make sure that their employees are fairly compensated.
“We’re going to start losing people. We already have,” Commissioner Doug Robertson said. “We’re also going to find it harder to attract qualified people.”
How many things are wrong with that logic? In a weak economy, it should be easier to find qualified folks for most jobs. Why offer more pay unless there's actually a problem finding qualified folks, especially when the job benefits are so good? And speaking of that, it's a red flag whenever government employees resort to emotional appeals like "fair" compensation...they know they're doing well compared to the private sector.
However, the issue of job security in the face of a declining budget is a valid concern. For instance, our JoCo Sheriff's Office struggles to attract and retain deputies because they're worried about looming budget cuts and know that the City of Grants Pass pays better and offers more stability. But if county leadership provides a generous pay increase, there's a significant risk of alienating an already tax-shy public, whose votes are needed to avoid those budget cuts.
And in a related thought, that 26 percent pay increase the Jackson County Commissioners recently gave themselves was horrifically irresponsible. Anyway...
Robertson suggested the commissioners start by looking to make adjustments in the salary range for workers whose salaries are 10 percent less or lower than comparable jobs in private industry in the Roseburg area.
The county uses a 15-step salary schedule. As workers gain new skills and responsibilities and develop more seniority, they rise on the schedule. Each step contains a salary that is higher than the step below.
Rosemarie Wess, the county’s human resources director, said a revamped salary schedule with 20 steps could be used to reward workers who are asked to take on added responsibilities. It could also benefit those who have fallen behind in their salaries when compared with private business.
No, salary should never be addressed separately. Use the bottom line--total compensation--to make the comparisons.
Changing the steps in the salary schedule is a great way of muddying the compensation waters. The headline pay raise can look reasonable while part of the increase is hidden within the steps. You can shorten the time between steps, give everyone an extra step, on and on.
Robertson said department heads would still have to work through their existing budgets to add in any salary increases. Additional money would not be available from the county’s general fund to pick up the added costs.
Thus, salary increases will be funded by more reductions in service? Great.
It was following 9/11...whether it was six months or a year doesn't matter. My business took a very substantial hit. When you rely upon cash flow, the effects of 9/11 were devastating. Between 9/11 and 10/11 my cash dropped over 90 percent. Most of those who owed me money eventually paid, but even there I lost some significant accounts due to the negative financial impact of 9/11. When I say I got sideways on my bills, I mean I got sideways. Just like my clients, if your bill didn't reflect a necessary expense to keep operating, you didn't get paid.
Enter a conversation with a government bureaucrat in Salem. It seems that they felt that they were due some money--they didn't actually, but that is another, long, tedious and disturbing story--and that I was to pay it, forthwith. In the give and take of a disturbing brush with an under-educated, full-time and career government employee, it was pointed out to me that if I was unable to pay the bills of my company, perhaps I should look at getting into another line of work. Jaw-dropping, actually.
I beat my way through the rushes of financial despair, but have that observation by one of the carrion that lives off the body commerce. It is perhaps true that job stability might affect ones decision to apply for and accept a county job. But what's up with a 26 percent pay increase in the face of declining revenue?
When things got bad for me, I ended up dining on too much macaroni and cheese. For a treat, a couple of sliced up hot dogs and olives meant a feast. But I did the necessary belt-tightening. Not rhetorical belt-tightening. Real belt-tightening. It took 3-1/2 years to finally pay off all the past due bills. But I did it.
SEIU and AFSCME? Sorry folks. Maybe you should look at getting into another line of work. You will have my sympathy. However, the empathy thing? You're not there yet.
Oh, and a p.s.
All those years of environmental efforts to save the trees is having an incredibly horrible effect on rural communities across Oregon. Mebbe it's time to examine who, on either a state or local level, is pandering to the environmentalists.
Nice post. Sorry to rev my motor.
Posted by: OregonGuy | July 05, 2008 at 10:26
So many government workers display a sense of entitlement and then wonder why they're not more appreciated.
Posted by: RoguePundit | July 05, 2008 at 14:23