Comments on: Bach loses mayor/council showdown

By: Jackie

Jackie — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:18:51 +0000

I agree with the Mayor’s position on this issue. Personally I have not had a raise in 5 years and did not get one again this year. In addition my health care premiums continue to rise, which results in a decrease in pay for me, however I am thankful to have a job in this economy. This is a free country, if someone is unhappy with their job for any reason, including their pay or lack of raises, they are free to seek employment elsewhere. I’m sure there are plenty of people who are waiting in line for their job and would happily take it. The bottom line is that the City is a business, yes there are people involved, but at the end of the day we all have to make sacrifices and the City is not immune from the issues that we all face with regard to the economy.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:53:43 +0000

I am so sick and tired of hearing the entitlement stories that city workers should be immune from what the rest of the real world is dealing with. I have been furloughed, had my salary reduced twice and seen health insurance contributions go up every year for the last 10 years. And, I am glad to have a job because there are not an abundance of opportunities available for a career move.

Mr. Herpin, we also hire people, and we explain that if they work hard, train, perform as expected, then hopefully we will all get raises. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way and that has become the norm. And Ms Martin, I got less notice than you when I had my salary reduced. Yet, I am still glad to be employed and I work harder to make our business successful for hope that it will get better.

I am proud that we have a mayor that sees the big picture in a realistic sense of what we need to do to protect our future and not dig a hole that we can’t get out of.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:06:01 +0000

I believe that this should have been approved and that the mayor should have been given the final say. He needs to be able to do what is right for the community. Yes, it would not have made everyone in the city positions happy, but when you are faced with hard time you have to make hard decisions and I do not feel that only the public sector should have to share in those choices. I work in the private sector as do most of my friends and acquaintances. I know that the majority of businesses have had to freeze salaries at least some of the last 3 or 4 years, and many have had to freeze them most if not all of those years. In fact three years ago I (and everyone I work with) took a 5% cut in pay that was just reinstated earlier this year. Furthermore, I do not expect to receive an increase in the coming year and I can not tell you how long it has been since I saw a “cost of living” increase. I believe that most private sector jobs said goodbye to those 10 plus years ago. These are “tough times” and just because you are (take your pick) a(n) (educator, city employee, state employee, county employee, or federal employee) does not make you exempt from the issues that face the rest of the country.

I deal with hundreds (literally) of small business owners and hear about and see the decisions they are being forced to make daily just to keep their doors open and the attitude that Mr. Herpin and many of the other council members display here just shows me how out of touch they are with what is really happening in business at this time. Not making this adjustment mandatory while they keep trying to get business to pay more just does not make since and it is the reason that as a nation we are going bankrupt and paralyzed by bureaucracy. Everyone is so afraid of offending a voter that they are not willing to lead us out of this situation. I have met and spoken with many representatives and almost unanimously they agree that we have got to cut programs and services and rethink the way we are doing things to work our way our of the current financial mess we are in. However, in the very next breath (again almost unanimously) they will defend the budgets and spending increases on their “pet projects”. It is human nature to want someone else to bite the bullet and being the bullet biter is never fun, but once you work your way out of a tough spot you are far less likely to find your way back into a similar one!

Man/Woman up council members! It is in times like these that we need brave new leaders that are willing to stand up and say we can not expect to have new results doing things the same way we always have. To date, God has always provided this country with the “Great Leadership” we need when we need it most. Are you “that kind of leader” in this community? If not, get out of the way so we can find someone that is.

BTW… I think Mayor Bach is trying to be that kind of leader.

By: Chuck Armstrong

Chuck Armstrong — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:55:35 +0000

I am sorry Council didn’t support the Mayor. Someone has to be the bad guy and at least Bach is willing to do something. My income is less than half what it was a few years back and I am not alone. Being self-employed I don’t qualify for ANY help, unemployment, bailout, etc. So, as much as I’d like to see everyone get raises and increases, the time for that is past until conditions improve for the rest of us economically. We cannot insulate the public sector forever.

I would bet that if all the City jobs were put out for “reapplication” at 70% of the former pay, the line of applicants (many quite qualified) might stretch for miles! Thousands of people would love these jobs and do quite well. I am not advocating this approach, but surely Mayor Bach’s approach is at least a bit of a start isn’t it? Herpin’s approach mentioned above is ridiculous, to not adjust an overpaid employee’s wages!