City Staff Recommends Raises
Council hesitant until economic situation comes clear
By Sondra Murphy
It was a “show me the money” moment during last week’s Ojai City Council meeting when the subject of amendments to city personnel classifications came up.
City staff will have to wait until council members see the budget before they have a chance at upgrading some job positions.
Amendments to certain positions in the city’s personnel classification system were brought to the board last Tuesday in an effort to make city salaries more competitive with regional agencies.
City staff recommended the council give two positions pay raises to closer reflect other county agencies pay scales: planning and building technician and assistant to the city manager. Staff also recommended a third position be established, that of redevelopment manager. That job is currently being filled by an independent contractor. City attorney Monte Widders said auditors have advised the position should be converted into a part-time contracted position in order to be in accordance with IRS guidelines.
With the impending retirement of the assistant to the city manager, a search for her replacement has been under way. The city manager’s office went through an application process in late 2008 that resulted in two candidates. Unfortunately, both turned down the job, citing the low pay. Increasing the salary range was an effort to find a highly qualified person to fill the role.
“I’m sure that these are good ideas and need to be done, but my question is why now?” asked Councilwoman Sue Horgan. “We have no idea how our budget will be next year. I think we need to consider the economic market right now.”
“The timing is coincidental,” answered city manager Jere Kersnar. “The issue of the IRS ruling has been bubbling for years, but the assistant to the city manager position just became vacant. This was one of her tasks to complete before retiring. Whether you can afford it or not, this is the right thing to do from a legal perspective.”
In regards to the assistant to the city manager, Councilwoman Carol Smith said, “It’s clear to me if we don’t go to Range 58, we may not get someone. The amount of staff time it took, including (Kersnar’s) was huge, then to have the person determined to be successful in the position turn it down because of salary, how much more time will be spent on this?” Smith then suggested the funds saved by staff time in finding an assistant to the city manager might compensate for the extra wages.
“I can see a need for it, especially in the assistant to the city manager, but when I look at the total cost … it’s like $30,000,” said Mayor Joe DeVito. He then asked why the position could not remain filled by an independent contractor.
“The requirements for an independent contractor status, according to the IRS, are very strict,” answered Widders. “There’s like 20 different criteria they feel you have to meet.” Widders added that if the indepen-dent contractor was determined to qualify as an employee, the city runs the risk of needing to pay back deductions not taken, which could be a burdensome retroactive amount. “Now that the auditors have made this recommendation, we could not claim in any type of good faith that we thought she was otherwise.”
Council ultimately rejected the personnel changes by a narrow 3-2 vote, with Councilmembers Steve Olsen and Smith in support of city staff’s request. “I can’t support this now, but that’s not to say I couldn’t later,” said Horgan. City analysts are expected to bring a city budget update to a February council meeting.
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public workers get paid peanuts compared to their corporate counterparts! and they are subjected to down sizing just like anyone else.
working for peanuts
3 Feb 09 at 3:54 pm
This may have been true 30 years ago, but it sure isn’t now! The tradeoff used to be that great benefits and retirement with a guaranteed risk-free pension at 55 was the reward for municipal, county, state or federal employment.
Just try to get a job in the private sector, if you think you are underpaid! Believe me, plenty of people with skills in the private sector will line up for your gov’t. job.
It kills me to hear prison guard unions, teacher unions, state engineer unions, UC and Cal State students crying about tuition increases, etc. all whining to protect their piece of the pie. They will not willingly give up one nickel, and don’t care what happens elsewhere. At what point are we all in this together? Never, apparently.
Raises now? Bad idea!
If you go apply now you can be a federal agent.
No exp.necessary good pay job security!!!!
A prison guard or a parole officer.
immigration is hiring now more than ever.
The feds are buying up anything they can
as the whole country is going broke.
Two choices
A: prison guard
B: prison inmate
The k.g.c.allways wanted a golden circle to start the new world with a subeconomy separate from the currency they use but easily controlled.
The patriot act was only designed for us and will be a part of the new constitution for the N.A.U.
public workers get paid peanuts compared to their corporate counterparts! and they are subjected to down sizing just like anyone else.
Public workers with steady and inflated salaries doing half the work at half the pace anyone else does want more money to do the same or less, especially now at a time when having a job is considered a blessing in itself? I don’t see it. Public safety is a large enough expense as they are the biggest feeders at the trough and we pay them mostly to be on call anyway.
Give me a break!
Forcing workers to take unpaid sick days.
Handing out state iou’s.
Not paying bills.
And still spending like crazy.
Like a 10 yr old with a credit card.
That’s just California.
The fed on the other hand is printing up trillions of new money and handing out bail out’s and stimulus package’s hand over fist.
If you had money in the bank is now worth half of what it was a few months ago.
If you own your house and have not been foreclosed on yet the value is falling steady.
That’s the Fed’s
An here in ojai.
Non profit bs.
Cops soon are going to ask for their raises.
In a town where chain stores and small business are in their death throws
Property tax paying citizens are becoming tent and RV owners.
That sign law and committee + all the funding for enforcement.
The water racket they have going on with all the price hikes.
One last thing its strange when we are late paying something you get all sorts of fee’s added
but the state and other officials to them its free and no fee!!!!
..and whats next after that? A corporate jet??
raises?? I thought we were going broke … come on we are not wall st CEO’s — we need to actually be reasonable re compensation based on real circumstances … lets be reality based
What’s next? A share of the bailout money?
Providing a record of what they have accomplished so far would help to butter us up first!!!
well, how about throwing a few numbers at us, like what’s currently budgeted for the assistant vs. how much are they proposing?
At this time in California history, to be handing out raises — I don’t know. Maybe if I get my State tax refund back.
more money more more!!!!
vote next week about my raise too!!