Posted on 11/13/2010 12:39:31 PM PST by hadit2here
After forgoing a raise last year because of the recession, Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson this week cashed in on a big pay hike due to him – almost $35,000 per year. After forgoing a raise last year because of the recession, Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson this week cashed in on a big pay hike due to him – almost $35,000 per year.
The 17.4 percent raise in annual pay – triggered by a national economic study showing the economy is improving – bumps Anderson’s base salary from $200,450 to $235,373.
The raise is retroactive to Jan. 1, meaning that on top of his new salary, Anderson is owed about $32,000 in back pay for this year.
“I appreciate the City Council’s commitment to bring me to market as they have and will with everyone else in the organization,” Anderson said in an interview. “I have to remain committed to earning it every day and working hard to make sure I’m worth it.”
[ snip ]
It also comes at a time when the area’s unemployment rate is high, local budgets are getting slashed and Anderson is seeking a wage freeze for all city employees, beginning next year.
[ snip ]
As a pre-approved contractual issue, the pay hike was an administrative action made without City Council approval. When Anderson indicated he wanted the raise, the city legally had no choice but to honor his request or break his employment contract.
Read the full article
(Excerpt) Read more at thenewstribune.com ...
...the strategy will seek to refinance several existing long-term bond debts to create millions in savings through 2012, taking advantage of low interest rates.
[snip]
With reserves now largely depleted, Anderson has said the city should brace for a budget “tens of millions” less than recent ones.
Hey, why not just take out a second mortgage, since the rates are so low?
Other related articles in the same paper from the same search results page:
Tacoma’s $30 million gamble on union cooperation
City of Tacoma officials, bracing for a sizably smaller budget, are betting big on their ability to hold the line on city employee wages. Experien... read entire article
Pierce County pay raises: They’re complicated
Pierce County government workers pay rose by nearly one-quarter from 2005 to 2009, far faster than inflation or private wages during the same perio... read entire article
Union rejects City of Tacoma's contract offer, raising specter of budget repercussions
A key part of Tacoma City Manager Eric Andersons 2011-12 budget proposal presented last month to the City Council hinged on a big assumption: That,...read entire article
City of Tacoma to freeze wages, cut 79 jobs under budget proposal
Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson delivered a budget proposal to the City Council on Tuesday that would eliminate 79 vacant city positions and free... read entire article
Tacoma city manager talks wage freezes, other options with labor officials
Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson met with labor union officials Monday to detail budget woes facing the city and talk about dire prospects for cit... read entire article
Contract talks 'tough' for all
Contract talks between Gov. Chris Gregoire's labor office and the largest union representing general-government workers have hit roadblocks that ar... read entire article
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For those in Rio Linda, Tacoma, WA, is another liberal haven just south of Seattle (King County, famous for "finding" as many bags of votes as needed to elect Queen Christine Gregoire in the recounts against Dino Rossi in his first run against her) and where activists trying to assure a fair vote count several years ago were physically thrown out of the building by police from where the Pierce County Auditor's staff were (as they admitted) "RE-marking" ballots after an election.
Chicago/Cook County on the Puget Sound.
The actual headline in the print edition of the TNT was something like "City Manager takes raise while advocating wage freeze for employees." I'm sure the TNT heard from the powers that be in the Tacoma politburo and toned down the heads on all their online articles, since they couldn't recall all the print copies to fix it.
By the way, the TNT is only slightly to the center of the WaPo and NYT, trailing only behind the Seattle Times and Seattle PI as leftist propaganda tools.
Just like Beck showed on his show yesterday: The only people getting salary increases since Obama came into office are those working government jobs.
1,000 at the current $235k/yr
Probably 1,000 at $150K/yr
Probably 1,000 for $100k/yr
Probably 1,000 for $75k/yr, and
probably 1,000 for $50K/yr
Because there are 1,000 local qualified executives out of work.
This city manager is thusly overpaid when considering market conditions.
No city manager is worth that much. The city council needs to be voted out.
Waiting for the socialist shills to make the point that it only means pennies per person in taxes so it's no big deal.
The people of Tacoma must do what they did in Bell, CA. You can get rid of these extortionists. Misappropriation of funds is good for some hefty jail time.
Tacoma, WA: “City of Destiny” (assuming, of course, that your destiny is to be killed in a drive-by shooting).
Ridiculous that they would pay him that much when they had the option of not renewing his contract. Like someone said, you would get at least a 1000 qualified people willing to do that job for around $50k per year plus benefits in this economy.
Anybody who takes it for less will jump at the first chance when the ecomony improves the next decade
Definitely nor worth $235K
That is outrageous. It would be nice, but it’s not as if the citizens can expect govt employees to do the honorable thing and scream, “Hey, we’re getting paid too much! Let me get out my checkbook and pay you back; I’m sure my wife won’t care, but I’ll check when she’s back from her shopping spree.”
The citizens are going to have to revolt and rein these people in.
Don’t know about recently, but found an article that had Tacoma’s unemployment rate in March at 10.3%. It’s probably down to “only” 9% now, hence the raise.
So then in those ten years, the city saves $135K/yr. Or $1.35 Million total.
Instead, the City Council added language to his contract that froze his salary “until such time that the National Bureau of Economic Research announces two consecutive quarters of growth.”
The Cambridge, Mass.-based research organization determines, among other things, when economic recessions and recoveries occur. In September, the bureau issued a report indicating two straight quarters of growth.
Why on earth would anyone do something sensible like predicating it on the local economy? That would be too logical for these morons.
... Councilman Ryan Mello, who joined the council this year – after Anderson’s contract had been amended – said the council should have hinged Anderson’s pay raise on local economic factors.
Duh! Gee, ya think??!!
“I wish they would have negotiated something different,” Mello said. “Something real tangible to the City of Tacoma that showed the people here are doing better, not some indicator put together by academics in Washington, D.C.”...
Mello was appointed to an at large position, not elected. From the City website:
In 2008 – 2009 Ryan served as Co-Chair of the City’s Green Ribbon Task Force on Climate Change producing the City’s plan for addressing global climate change.
Ryan currently works as the Pierce County Director for the Cascade Land Conservancy. He and his partner Jerry have two dogs and two cats and live in central Tacoma in walking distance of the 6th Avenue Business District...
Remember, these are lifelong, inveterate libs that make up the majority of the council- and the city.
If you think any of these libtards would make any positive change, the article ends with this:
“Bringing a CEO to market is never a popular decision no matter when you do it,” she [Mayor Strickland] added. “I think that’s a good salary. It really is market-based.”
Even with the raise, Anderson isn’t the highest paid city employee. That distinction goes to Tacoma Public Utilities Director Bill Gaines, whose $136.54 hourly pay rate garnered him $290,262 in 2009, city pay records show. In fact, before his raise, four TPU employees were paid at a higher rate than Anderson.
I'm just real glad that I don't live there any more. But the county ain't much better.
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