This 'special secretary' was clearly NOT needed. And the price did not reflect the job.......way overpaid at the taxpayer's expense. EE is still awol and collecting a salary at the rotterdam taxpayers expense....the price does not reflect the job done. It appears to be true that no one in rotterdam's TH trusts ANYONE!! And who can blame them.
The rotterdam democons have apparently lowered the bar with REVITALIZE ROTTERDAM. And they knew it. HB will not be enough to resurrect what the democons have all but totally destroyed. HB should bow out now while he still can hang on to his reputation. Anyone would have to be nuts to take any endorsement from the rotterdam democons.
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
I have known DM for a long time...back in my Assembly days. You people have missed the boat on that one. She is more than competent and brings a lot to the town. Your town has just gone down a notch. She probably had more class in that office than all of TH put together. The do-nothing in your town is your Rep[ leadership. MM you would be so lucky to have a secretary of her caliber. FOOLS!
If she was so 'intellegent', 'classy' and 'smarter than all of TH'...........she should have know to stay clear of this position the first day she applied for it!! Now her reputation is just as tarnished as the rest.
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
I have known DM for a long time...back in my Assembly days. You people have missed the boat on that one. She is more than competent and brings a lot to the town. Your town has just gone down a notch. She probably had more class in that office than all of TH put together. The do-nothing in your town is your Rep[ leadership. MM you would be so lucky to have a secretary of her caliber. FOOLS!
Hawker...Mary M is not Cindy...and your posts indicate that the bitterness is on your part....in a highly infantile form at that...and I'm sure Mary is unphased by your empty threats...especially since you are directing them at someone else - lol.
Virtually all of the few out of Town employees are professionals in different fields of expertise that simply could not be found in Rotterdam...at least none who were interested.
A secretary isn't a job that requires a high level of training and education, or any unique expertise or specialization...and there has never been a secretary at Town Hall who earns $42 per hour.
Your comments regarding the education and training level for a secretary are ABSOLUTELY WRONG. A secretary needs to be knowledgeable and competent in the operation and use of computers and other office equipment, they need to be more than proficient in the English language (grammar, usage, spelling, ect). Theyneed to be be able to work with a variety of computer programs including word processing, spreadsheet, etc.They need to be able to set up and maintain filing systems .. and be well versed in modern technologies fordocument scanning and storage.
They need to have the public skills and etiquette necessary to answer the telephone, greet office visitors and work with a wide variety of persons.
They need to be able to take notes at meetings .. many secretaries learn shorthand - which is not an easy task to learn.
A confidential secretary to a municipal executive needs to have some familiarity with law, finance and other topics pertinent to running a municipal government.
Your derogatory comments towards secretaries and other administrative professionals are uncalled for and demands an apology from you for spreading such obviously blatant untruths.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
Your derogatory comments towards secretaries and other administrative professionals are uncalled for and demands an apology from you for spreading such obviously blatant untruths.
I don't believe Gadfly's comments were derogatory. They were factual. Secretaries do not require a high level of training and education . Many of the skills required for the job are basic competencies taught in most if not all public high schools. $42 per hour is NOT the market rate for a job that can be filled by a person with a high school diploma. I’m not saying the job is unimportant or that some people can do the job marginally better than others, but $42 per hour or which would translate into $87K per year if it were a 40 hour work week is more than twice what the job should pay…Especially in this market with high unemployment. It's patronage theft.
I don't believe Gadfly's comments were derogatory. They were factual. Secretaries do not require a high level of training and education . Many of the skills required for the job are basic competencies taught in most if not all public high schools. $42 per hour is NOT the market rate for a job that can be filled by a person with a high school diploma. I’m not saying the job is unimportant or that some people can do the job marginally better than others, but $42 per hour or which would translate into $87K per year if it were a 40 hour work week is more than twice what the job should pay…Especially in this market with high unemployment. It's patronage theft.
Secretaries require a significant level of training and education -- that is a fact and I will not back down from that position.
As for the salary of the current confidential secretary or the outrageously high amount proposed to be paid if the position was made part-time -- I would agree that it is WAY TOO HIGH --- My personal opinion is that ALL town employees WITHOUT exception should be residents of Schenectady County (at least) .. but preferably of the town, itself. I believe that the post of confidential secretary used to be compensated somewhere in the mid $30,000's .. before it was left unfilled a few years back .. the mid30,000's for a full-time confidential secretary who is at least a county resident -- seems reasonable to me.
As for your comment that most of the skills needed to be a secretary are taught at most high schools is ABSOLUTELY FALSE. Years ago, high schools taught Secretarial/Office Practices, Typing, Shorthand, etc .... I don't know of ANY high school that offers those courses today. And none teaches courses in municipal law or municipal finance .. and God knows that we are lucky if our young people can read a 4th grade level comic book when they graduate from 12th grade.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
Secretaries require a significant level of training and education -- that is a fact and I will not back down from that position.
When you say "significant" what does that mean in measurable terms? Associates, Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate, Certificate? The fact is, significant isn't a level of education or training. The fact is there are a lot of people that have the significant amount of training and education to perform the job at a satisfactory level. You don't have to back down from your position; you are just proving that you have never been in charge of staffing and your lack of knowledge of the labor market is obvious. This isn't a derogatory statement against anybody that holds a secretary position, the fact is - there are a significant number of people in the labor market that can perform secretarial duties. SIGNIFICANT!
I have to agree with cicero. There are many definitions for 'secretaries'. One could be a secretary at a doctor's office, auto shop, retail store, school district etc... performing the same duties and with the same skills and education as a secretary for a ceo or any executive. It all comes down to 'job description'.
Now on the flip side............there is apparently many definitions for 'clerks'. One would think that a clerk is a lower position than a secretary....yes? If that is true....then rotterdam's awol CLERK is wayyyyyyyyyyy overpaid!!
However, some folks can not distinguish between 'public sector' job descriptions and 'private sector' job descriptions. Private is driven the true economic market, public is driven by political party and patronage.
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
Even Ron Severson could do this job. And, as an added bonus, he's used to living off others income.
I have never lived off anyone else's income -- keep up the slander and you will end up in court.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
My personal opinion is that ALL town employees WITHOUT exception should be residents of Schenectady County (at least) .. but preferably of the town, itself.
But "LOCAL" businesses are ones within a 75 mile radius.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
So after 1 1/2years she's going part time? Why? What's the sudden change?
She should retire and go back to Rensselaer where she lives. To make $39 and hour and only work 17 1/2 hours is something that only FDG and BG can come up with. She has been the worst confidential secretary our Town has ever had and its because she did not know one thing about Rotterdam. Not her fault but she sure took advantage of the tax payers in Rotterdam. So retire and let some one make the $24 till the end of the year and work full time.
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