[RP TownTalk] Mayor and Council salaries, problems and solutions
Kate Sharpe
katherinesharpe at yahoo.com
Mon Dec 4 19:20:05 UTC 2006
I'd like to add my vote to the unofficial tally - I support pay raises for the Mayor and Council. The private sector accepts, without question, that competitive salaries are required to retain quality employees. Why should the public sector be different?
Kate Sharpe
4800 Ravenswood
----- Original Message ----
From: Marita Novicky <novickym at hotmail.com>
To: towntalk at riverdale-park.org
Sent: Monday, December 4, 2006 1:11:24 PM
Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Mayor and Council salaries, problems and solutions
You all make excellent points. I join Kate Kelly in the camp that says pay our officials more. David Hiles is so right about hiring and paying quality workforce personnel.
Marita A. Novicky
----------------------------------------
> From: towntalk-request at riverdale-park.org
> Subject: TownTalk Digest, Vol 5, Issue 6
> To: towntalk at riverdale-park.org
> Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 12:00:04 +0000
>
> Send TownTalk mailing list submissions to
> towntalk at riverdale-park.org
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> towntalk-request at riverdale-park.org
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> towntalk-owner at riverdale-park.org
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of TownTalk digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Mayor and Council Salaries (Rob Oppenheim)
> 2. Revenue - Problems - Solutions (Rob Oppenheim)
> 3. Fwd: Mayor and Council Salaries (Kate Kelly)
> 4. Revenue - Problems - Solutions (David Hiles)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 17:32:44 -0500
> From: Rob Oppenheim <oppenheim at email.com>
> Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Mayor and Council Salaries
> To: TownTalk <towntalk at riverdale-park.org>
> Message-ID: <2006123173244.512605 at Rob2>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> On Sun, 3 Dec 2006 08:41:23 -0500, Alice Ewen Walker wrote:
> >...Including?OC?in?the?average?benchmarks?for?salaries?bumps?the?average?up?quite?a?bit.?
> ?
> FYI, we omitted Ocean City (OC) in the adjusted average, along with some
> other adjustments to make it more relevant to our situation and time frame.
> The numbers did not change much. Less for the mayor, more for council...
> Adjusted Average was $689 for council and $915 for mayor.
> ?
> http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/2006-September/000901.html
> ?
> Similar sized towns deal with similar problems and is a reasonable comparison.
> Looking at budgets is good too.
> ?
> District Heights and Glenarden are the two towns that are near our size whose
> budgets are nearest to ours. District heights $4.5, Glenarden $2.2, RP $3.6.
>
> An average of District Height and Glenarden yields $650 council, $850 Mayor
>
>
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL: http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/attachments/20061203/f0837ff0/attachment-0001.html
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 18:09:35 -0500
> From: Rob Oppenheim <oppenheim at email.com>
> Subject: [RP TownTalk] Revenue - Problems - Solutions
> To: TownTalk <towntalk at riverdale-park.org>
> Message-ID: <200612318935.504215 at Rob2>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Let me see if I can clarify a few items recently discussed here.
>
> Revenues Fluctuate.
>
> A few years ago there was a revenue shortfall that resulted in cut backs.
> We are in pretty good shape right now. Don?t get me wrong. There is
> not a ton of money, but there is some. We can, and are, doing things
> to improve this town.
>
> The Good News
>
> As a result of increased revenues, we were able to increase funding for
> police and front office staff. It takes time to see results from increased
> staffing. Hiring people in government takes a long time. Then there is
> training time, followed by time spent clearing the backlog of work.
> Routine turnover in staff also slows progress. But progress is being made.
>
> The police department is now well funded and fully staffed and at a high
> point. E.g., there was a patrol car posted at the path next to Greg?s towing
> last night. This area needs better lighting too. The street lamps above
> this area on E-W highway are out. (You would not believe how much time
> and effort it takes to get street lamps fixed.)
>
> We have had some success here. Some lights that have been dark for
> years are now lit. I have a commitment from the state highway dept
> to fix those lamps on E-W highway. I will probably have to follow up and
> remind them several times before it gets done. Once those lamps are fixed,
> we can look at the area again to see if still more lighting is appropriate.
>
> The Bad News
>
> We all worry that our town is slipping into disrepair, over crowding, and crime.
>
> These are big problems that need long-term solutions. The ?whack a mole?
> approach won't fix them. Nor will just increasing staff.
>
> We need long-term, visionary solutions that come from the top - the council.
> We need creative, can do leaders. I think we have a few - we need more.
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sun, 03 Dec 2006 22:31:15 -0500
> From: Kate Kelly <kelly.kate at verizon.net>
> Subject: [RP TownTalk] Fwd: Mayor and Council Salaries
> To: TownTalk at riverdale-park.org
> Message-ID: <6D4A92AD-8398-4CFB-B1BE-CDC02C162504 at verizon.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>
>
>
> > Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Mayor and Council Salaries
> >
> > My $600 on this: Our elected officials are worth a lot more than
> > that. If you're polling, put me in the "pay the mayor and council
> > more" column.
> > KK
>
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL: http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/attachments/20061203/6f100fbf/attachment-0001.html
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 22:49:11 -0500
> From: David Hiles <hilesd at mindspring.com>
> Subject: [RP TownTalk] Revenue - Problems - Solutions
> To: TownTalk at riverdale-park.org
> Message-ID: <85e7f746fcfc97bd313f4697c81c6ea0 at mindspring.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
>
> My messages to this list are being moderated because I was judged to
> have violated the posting standards.
> ************************************
>
> Salaries:
> When I was walking my ward a while back, I met a lot of good people.
> Many of them could have been good on the council. They would have
> brought new ideas and energy to the group. But they work two jobs. If
> the council paid better, they might be able to cut back on the second
> job and participate. The ideal of selfless public service is ancient.
> Paying for public service so that the less well-off can join in is more
> modern, but still honorable.
>
> It is a good investment to make council membership attractive to all
> members of our community. If there are lots of good candidates out
> there who step up and and run every election, then maybe there is no
> problem. The quality and depth of the candidate pool varies some by
> ward. We need forward-thinking, energetic representatives in every
> seat. If you aren't willing to pay for salary increases, please don't
> say you are in favor, but not right now. If not now, when? If not
> you, who?
>
> Inflation happens. Set an attractive salary and then escalate it
> annually by law using the DC MSA federal pay increase. That takes pay
> out of the list of diversionary, low-priority things to run elections
> about. Having big voting battles about inflation-driven pay increases
> makes as much sense as voting against a barometric pressure increase.
> Spend your scarce time and energy on the important stuff.
>
> Councilmembers who don't need the salary or an increase have always
> been able to donate it back to the town. Some members in the past
> earmarked their forgone salary for priority projects. Incredibly, some
> people complained about the earmarking.
>
> Revenue:
> Local gov't revenue varies, often more than spending. When big
> properties are developed, revenue increases. When big properties sit
> vacant, they generate less revenue. Try the land value tax and see if
> it works. You could always repeal it if it didn't work. Riverdale
> seems to be vulnerable to this kind of swing because of the big parcels
> which are still in play within our boundaries. The recurring
> revenue-spending problem calls for a council which can think over
> multiple years and develop long term budgets for planning purposes.
> Changing the term of office from 2 to 4 years would help develop a
> longer frame of vision.
>
> Solutions:
> Staff inefficiency plays into the pay argument. Somebody recently
> said, "Hiring people in government takes a long time. Then there is
> training time, followed by time spent clearing the backlog of work. It
> takes time to see results from increased staffing. Turnover in staff
> also slows progress."
>
> If you want an efficient town staff, then be happy to pay them well
> enough that they want to stick around, not leave as soon as they are
> trained. An efficient staff means that all the town functions that we
> care about get done better. If an experienced, motivated staff can
> save us from one lawsuit every ten years, it is cheaper, too. This
> idea applies to councilmembers, too.
>
> We have a problem of scale. By that I mean we are too small to do lots
> of town functions well or efficiently. No criticism, just an
> observation. We already address some of those scale problems
> implicitly by sharing equipment between jurisdictions or by sharing
> police through mutual aid agreements. We could address it explicitly
> by merging the Town of Riverdale Park with a similar adjacent
> jurisdiction, like Edmonston.
>
> Another problem may be one of support. If someone on the council who
> you respect says we need something that costs town money for our
> community, think (longer) before slagging them. Ditto for someone who
> proposes a new idea. Everyone up there deserves our support, because
> it often isn't all that much fun.
>
>
> Glynd?r "I can call spirits from the vasty deep!"
>
> Hotspur: "Why so can I, or so can any man; but will they come when you
> do call for them?"
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> TownTalk mailing list
> TownTalk at riverdale-park.org
> http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk
>
> For more information about Riverdale Park, visit http://www.ci.riverdale-park.md.us
>
> End of TownTalk Digest, Vol 5, Issue 6
> **************************************
_________________________________________________________________
Check the weather nationwide with MSN Search: Try it now!
http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=weather&FORM=WLMTAG
_______________________________________________
TownTalk mailing list
To post to the list, send mail to TownTalk at riverdale-park.org
TownTalk-request at riverdale-park.org is for automated subscription processing only
http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk
For more information about Riverdale Park, visit http://www.ci.riverdale-park.md.us
____________________________________________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.
http://new.mail.yahoo.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/attachments/20061204/be8317e4/attachment-0003.html>
More information about the TownTalk
mailing list