[RP TownTalk] Revenue - Problems - Solutions

Tue Dec 5 06:34:10 UTC 2006

Mr. Hiles,

Thank you for your informative comments on our town and its government. I am 
sorry if my own comments suggested that I was against increasing the pay of 
council members and the mayor. I had no such intention especially for my own 
council member Rob Oppenheimer who I believe is doing a superb job and 
deserves my support.

My question was how do we pay for the increased expense?

Obviously many of our town property owners see nothing wrong with increasing 
property taxes. I hope they understand that there are many ways for a 
government to raise revenue other than property taxes. Increases in license 
fees, permits, of fines are just some of the ways ‘creative’ politicians use 
to fill the town coffers.  Then there is the prospect of deficit spending 
(usually called ‘investment’) If the cause is good, to hell with questioning 
the cost. Pass the costs on to future citizens.

Perhaps I’m being a little sarcastic about this, but then, I know there are 
cleaver lawyers, politicians, and opportunists who enjoy pulling the wool 
over the eyes of a trusting citizenry.  Who can be against better pay for 
hard working civil servants? Who wouldn’t want ‘new ideas, new energy and 
new blood’ on our town council?   I certainly “want an efficient town 
 staff,” and would “be happy to pay them well enough that they want to stick 
around, not leave as soon as they are trained.”

But then I don’t want to lose or burden good citizens who may find tax 
increases a hardship. I don’t want to lose or discourage those who do not 
believe “The ideal of selfless public service is ancient” and everything is 
better when you get paid to do it.

 I believe this town is more indebted to selfless citizens who have had a 
vision and willingly volunteered time and energy to make Riverdale a good 
place to live and raise families. I believe the loss of our Town Center and 
Bookshop, the loss of our mural and historic buildings were not due to the 
low salaries of the town council. I do believe the council members deserve a 
raise, but not as an incentive to do more or better work. I believe a raise 
should make them more appreciative of the unique nature of Riverdale and its 
citizen volunteers. Some may think that better rewarded council members are 
all that is needed to solve the town’s problems. I believe keeping and 
rewarding the best and most benevolent citizens and attracting better 
families to settle in Riverdale is of equal if not more benefit to the 
future of this community.

Gerald King

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Hiles" <hilesd at mindspring.com>
To: <TownTalk at riverdale-park.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2006 10:49 PM
Subject: [RP TownTalk] Revenue - Problems - Solutions

> 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.
>
>
> Glyndŵr "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
> 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 