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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979 05-16 Proposed salary hike alarms citizens' groups THE REVIEW •.'> > l)99rhike 16, 1979 Minnesota -° °/i'ca.y/G,l9?g .f2 "v,., ,:: P ® ose sa alarms c ° 1" i group By MELANIE WAAGE them. He said he wanted to know what their feelings were A recommendation made by Maplewood city manager about council making the adjustment prior to recom- Barry Evans had members of the citizen's wage committee mendatiens. angry. Angry enough to wait until 1 a.m. at the May 3 "This dropped like a bomb," Anderson said. "They are meeting to hear the issue discussed. trying to do a complete job and feel this is a block in their MANAGER BARRY EVANS recommended that the city paths." council approve a pay raise in order to retain public works Anderson recommended that council table the matter director Bill Bittner.Bittner,who has been employed by the until the wage committee had presented their report. city for 11/2 years, had talked to Evans earlier in the week Councilman Donald Wiegert said he didn't think this was and told him of an offer he had from another city to be their an issue that should affect the operation of the wage corn- director. The offer was for a salary much higher than he is mittee.They could continue reviewing salaries and offering earning locally. recommendations, he said. Challenging Anderson's ap- Evans expressed his desire to retain Bittner to the council, pearance at the committee's meeting, Wiegert added, "1 and said he felt it would be costlier to let him leave the city. don't feel the council belongs at those meetings." "He is of a lot of value to our city,"Evans said.`Bittner is AN EXCEPTION to the guidelines was made last month at a point where the engineering department has finally when the council approved the Metropolitan Area stabilized and a well-rounded job is being done. Management Association Local Number 320 joint contract. "I think we have to seriously look at the cost of replacing This settlement involved a 7 per cent increase for 1879 and a him.If we had to do so,we would end up paying more to get 7.6 per cent increase for 1980 for. Maplewood patrol officers. someone with Bill's experience.I also fully realize that what "Well,I think we should go strictly consultant and get rid we are trying to do is save money when we can. of the public works director," Mayor John Greavu said. "What I'm asking for is making an adjustment to Bill's That way,he added,the city doesn't have to give Bittner a salary." raise and consultants could be brought in on special Evans quoted a cost comparison he had done with other projects. cities,and quoted Brooklyn Park's public works director as But other council members disagreed and said that being paid$33,000, Crystal, $30,000, and Plymouth, $29,000. bringing in a consultant would result in taking time to show Bittner currently earns $25,928 a year, and this raise them which way was "north and south." would put him at$29,187.This falls between the salaries of "This is the going rate for engineers, and if the price of Blaine's public works director, $30,000, and Plymouth's, oranges is high,and you have to have the oranges,you have $29,100. Bittner was to have received his annual raise in to pay the price for the oranges,"Wiegert said. January which would have placed him at $28,242. But, "We don't have to buy oranges then," Greavu em- because of the council's desire to have a wage committee phasized. study salaries, all raises were frozen. MEMBERS OF the wage committee spoke about their Evans said he did not think a salary adjustment for Bitt- concern if Bittner were to be given a raise.They asked the ner was an unreasonable request. council to stay the decision to raise his salary until July 1. "Bill's value to the city far exceeds a monetary value. I "We will have that report in by ,July 1, regardless of realize this is a bad time to make the request because the anything,"wage committee chairman Bill Lorenz stressed. wage committee wasn't able to make their recom- "We just want the opportunity to give our input in Bittner's mendations,but I believe this is of timely importance." salary. Our job will have become obsolete if his salary is EVANS was correct that it was not the best time to make a increased without waiting for our recommendations." salary adjustment. The citizen's wage committee, com- Wiegert told Lorenz that he wasn't sure the wage com- prised of 10 Maplewood citizens appointed by the council mittee was doing the job they had been appointed to do. "I members,is in the middle of a cost salary comparison and believe you are entering into the wrong areas of study," analysis at this time,They were instructed by the council to Wiegert said. "The committee was appointed to review the compare Maplewood's permanent city employees salaries salaries of permanent city employees not to examine excess with the salaries of other communities and with private personnel." 1•'stry,,They are interviewing various department heads HE ADDED that the council had to realize that job offers an.meeting with persons in private industry and are trying occurred at any time, not on a set schedule, and decisions to get their report ready for the council by the July 1 had to be made accordingly. deadline. At this point in the meeting,councilman Anderson told the The committee's intent,according to guidelines approved council that he knew a number of wage committee members at the Feb.15 city council meeting,is to assure the taxpayer would quit the committee if Bittner's salary was raised. and the council that it is receiving what it is paying for,good And,he added,it would be difficult to replace the committee government at a reasonable and fair cost. Also, the ap- members,or for it to fulfill its purpose once the action was proved proposal says that no salary adjustments would be taken. acted upon until recommendations were received. The motion was made to hold off on the salary adjustment COUNCILMAN NORM ANDERSON told the council he until after July 1. It passed 3-2, with Earl Nelson and Don had attended the wage committee's Wednesday night Wiegert voting no. meeting (May 2) and discussed Bittner's salary raise with As of May 14, Bittner has decided to stay in Maplewood.