I will bet that next year the raises for the Town Board will be included in the budget and the next time the issue of their raise comes up for a vote it will pass with flying colors.
I will bet that next year the raises for the Town Board will be included in the budget and the next time the issue of their raise comes up for a vote it will pass with flying colors.
Funny you should say that...I just posted a follow up on my blog
Why does Rotterdam only consider their 5 board members elected officials. Just to remind everybody, there are 4 other elected positions in Rotterdam. I'll remind you of the positions, and their pay for 06' and their pay for 07'.
I don't recall any threats of a permissive referendum for the proposed raises year after year for Rotterdam's 4 other elected officials. I hope everybody sticks to the collective message of a pay freeze for Rotterdam's elected officials......ALL OF THEM.
Cicero, Thank you for bringing that up. To be honest, these are people that, as long as the running of the daily business is going ok, the residents don't think about these people. You are right, we need to watch these positions in mind when it comes to money, too.
Cicero, Thank you for bringing that up. To be honest, these are people that, as long as the running of the daily business is going ok, the residents don't think about these people. You are right, we need to watch these positions in mind when it comes to money, too.
Not just watch these positions, but letting the people who hold these positions know that they are grossly over paid, and to expect a referendum if money is budgeted for a pay increase in the 2009 budget. Somebody mentioned career politician. How about our town clerk. In my lifetime I only know of one town clerk......Eunice. She's at the meetings, voice your displeasure of her $3330 annual raise.
Rotterdam only wants to penalize those town officials who they have most accessibility to, and those who make the unpopular decisions.
Rotterdam needs to build into the budget an automatic yearly minimum cost of living increase for all elected officials. Yes..... even the town council. That way it can't be used as an election issue when a raise is long over due and obviously needs to be done.
Rotterdam needs to build into the budget an automatic yearly minimum cost of living increase for all elected officials. Yes..... even the town council. That way it can't be used as an election issue when a raise is long over due and obviously needs to be done.
Would you say that a COLA somehow tied to inflation rates? Then, we would have to have the debate of what inflation rate would be used. Would we tie it to gas prices? To the stock market? National inflation? NYS inflation (which I would gander is much higher than national)? Schenectady County inflation (which would probably be higher than NYS)?
It actually sounds like a good idea, something to bring to the board.
Also, I wonder if with the next term for our town clerk that maybe we'll see some significant savings. I mean, if you look at the base salary, then give x% raise per year, should this salary be 50% lower? 25%? Or does the next one get the same rate that Ms. Esposito is currently getting, plus another 5% or so COLA?
It should be an automatic 2% or 3% annual raise, minimum. As for filling the Town Clerk with a newly elected clerk the next time it is up for election. I believe that person would step into the position at the same pay the previous clerk left that position, plus the annual minimum increase(2%,3%), budgeted that year for elected officials. Elected positions cannot be compensated based on performance. If the residents don't believe that the person is performing, they elected someone new to hold the office.
Seventeen years should not go by without an adjustment in the salaries of our elected officials.
That's right---no performance raise, just a performance vote by the tax payers to give power or to withhold power......we are what we make important.....
We as a people need to remove the 'raise issue' right out of the elected officials hands and off their podiums......
I agree with Cicero.....
PS: dont forget about appointed positions too......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Actually, with thinking about this a bit, I don't think that anybody coming into these positions should be given ANYTHING above what someone else was getting before they moved into a position.
Look at it this way. The position comes with a specific payment rate.
Now, if this was the real world, each year, the person's performance would be evaluated to determine if they were deserving of an additional payment for their job. Well, let's think about this if there were more than 1 position. Sure, there would be fluctuations between the pay amount for each of the employees. That would be due to the amount that they were making at the time that they started, plus the cumulative amount of change due to performance, good behavior, etc. over time. Well, with a persne being in a job for a certain amount of time (whether it be 5 years or 50 years), if a person is added to the staff at the same level and expected to do the same work, they would be back to the beginning of the pay scale, not as far up as the person who was just hired. It's cost containment. You don't pay someone a specific amount if they haven't earned it. They don't get raises without earning it (Except if it come to minimum wage). And, as said before, if it's not about the money, it's about service, how about setting the payment for the job back at whatever rate it was years ago, index it by inflation or whatever you'rew going to use and figure out what an appropriate amount would be for the position. As you said before, it's about serving, it's not about the paycheck. Someone doesn't want to take it for the lower price? They'll have to go and find a job somewhere else.
It's not about the paycheck but there is no $$ value in 'good deeds'....Just like the justices, take the issue out of their hands.....the only problem I see with the automatic raise is the fact that when there is a downturn it NEVER gets returned to the taxpayers......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
How long has the Highway Superintendent had this job? And why a $6,000 increase? So are we to believe that if another superintendent is elected he/she will start at at least $57,000? WOW! How 'bout the town clerk? We need to compare these wages with other townships as well. We know that the town board is underpaid, but perhaps the rest of these people are overpaid. And what does Dawn Pasquarello do all year at almost 50 grand a year? HMMMMMM.....
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Maybe it also depends on the $$ that comes from other layers of the government for certain projects,
if there is NYS $$ coming for road improvement then that dept will be very active(you would expect) and would be very busy for the next say 1-5years while completing extensive projects.
Kind of like the administrator of a grant...they get a salary to administrate the grant and it could be a good clip of $$.
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
ROTTERDAM Board OKs budget plan 4 councilmen given a raise BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter November 15, 2007
Town Board members approved the 2008 preliminary budget Wednesday and in the process gave themselves a raise. The four town councilmen will each receive an additional $5,000 under the new budget. The raise is a 50 percent increase from the $10,000 board members have been paid annually and is their first pay increase in more than 15 years. To compensate for the increased salaries, board members also supported a budget amendment shifting an additional $20,000 they anticipate collecting through fines, fees and forfeited bail.
Yes, I know that they aren't getting the raise now. But I went back to read the original article posted in the gazette. I noticed, again, how they anticipated how they were going to pay for the raises. All of these fines, fees and forfeited bail money should go back into their respected town department. That is what you do. The raise should be taken from available monies 'left over' after other expenses. Not on monies 'anticipated'. But I guess it's not an issue this year....but perhaps in the next budget.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
It's not much different than the state/federal creating new programs and paying for them with money from an increased tobacco tax and at the same time forcing people to quit smoking.
And that is why we are in this mess today. If I ran my household finances this way of counting on monies that wasn't even there yet....I'd be pennyless! But then again the government has the people to tax. If the government mismanages their money, they can just tax the people! It's a never ending flow of money from our pockets to theirs.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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