Managers Should Earn Raises Letter Of The Week From April 6

Just a few weeks after trying to slip a pay raise past the City Council, the increases have been presented again with little doubt that they will be passed.

When the managers’ pay is questioned, the usual response is that we get what we pay for and that without large amounts of cash they will move on to other cities.

If they can actually get comparable jobs elsewhere and are motivated to work for the city only on the basis of ever-increasing salaries, then I say they are welcome to move on.

Actually, as City Manager Roger Crum demonstrated in his Ann Arbor interview, maybe many could not do as well elsewhere and are more than lucky that they are paid so highly here.

Where is the idea of compensation based on performance? Some of our city’s managers either depend on consultants rather than staff to get their answers, manage their staffs for the lowest morale and productivity, create public controversy and distrust, or spend half of their time out of the city.

The council is so weak, it cannot even decide whether the city manager is doing his job without hiring a consultant. The council may not be able to take a stand against the raises and will probably attempt to justify them.

Citizens of the city, if polled, may have an opinion on the job Crum and his staff of managers are doing for the city. The average city employee who works hard every day doing her best may also question the raises. Arthur Lund Spokane

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