Christie: In Defense Of City Pay

Christie Wood (re: Mayor wannabes discuss city pay ): “I think all of the candidates did fine on this topic. Widmeyer has indicated he owes it to the citizens to dig into it. That is a true statement. The issue has been raised so it is only appropriate that he listen. I am confident he will review the salaries once elected. Eleven and 1/2 percent more than counter parts deserves a good look. What they will find is longevity of city employees vs a constant turnover and tremendous training expense that our counterparts face. That 11 percent cost far less than the cost of migration of highly trained public safety employees to other states. The costs are very heavy to hire and train police and fire. Their jobs carry high liability and tremendous responsibility so the price tag for training reflects that. That is just the fiscal cost. The loss of experience is also felt deeply by our counterparts.” Full comment here.

Question: This is the best explanation I’ve heard re: higher-than-normal city salaries. What do you think?