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Cape city manager approved for raiseMonday, December 1, 2008
A separate pay plan was recently announced for lower-ranking members of the police department, with officers at the pay grade of sergeant and below also receiving a 1 percent pay increase Jan. 1, an additional 1 percent increase July 1 and a step increase, totaling about 2 percent, on the anniversary of their hiring date. But the Cape Girardeau City Council, acting in October, approved a 4 percent raise for city manager Doug Leslie. The action came after the council offered Leslie an 8 percent raise, which he turned down, suggesting the lower amount, Mayor Jay Knudtson said. Before the increase, Leslie was paid $120,000 a year. His pay is now $124,800 annually. Some city worker groups, especially firefighters, are upset at what they view as unequal treatment. Dean Lynn, president of the Cape Girardeau Firefighter Association, declined to comment until he sees additional information from the city. Knudtson, when asked about Leslie's salary increase, said "that is the fire pseudo-union that is pouting" and called the pay matter "an internal issue." Making the decision Leslie's increase, both Knudtson and Leslie said, should be viewed in the context of what rank-and-file city employees received in the 12 months before the council decision. Over that time, they said, most city workers had received at least a 2 percent cost of living increase Jan. 1 and a step increase of about 2 percent on the anniversary date of their hiring or most recent promotion. When the council made its decision, Leslie had already announced there would be no step increases for city workers this year. And revenue receipts were stagnant, giving city leaders an indication the cost of living raise generally provided Jan. 1 would be difficult to deliver. "He was deserving of that raise," Knudtson said of the 8 percent offered. The increase was justified by a comparison of Leslie's pay to that given to city managers in the group of 12 small-sized to medium-sized cities Cape Girardeau uses as a peer group, Knudtson said. Those towns include Columbia, Mo., Paducah, Ky., Carbondale, Ill., Sikeston and Joplin, Mo. In Columbia, the city manager makes $147,800 annually. In Ballwin, Mo., the pay is $140,000 and in Carbondale, the pay is $121,000, Knudtson said. Leslie's reaction to the offer was unexpected, Knudtson said. "He said, 'I am respectfully declining the offer of 8 percent. I will accept 4 percent, because in my heart I feel that this is the same as what other employees got." The action takes the measure of Leslie's value to the city, Knudtson said. "This wasn't an attempt to make himself look better in light of what was coming," he said. "It really speaks to the quality of that decision, the humbleness of that decision." Setting pay Leslie is one of two city employees who have their pay set directly by the council. The other is the city's municipal judge. Unlike the judge, Leslie works without a contract and may be dismissed at any time. Before taking his current job, Leslie was director of public works. When the extra salary increases for police officers was reported, Leslie has said that when his next evaluation is due, the council should not give him a raise unless city workers generally are receiving pay increases. The pay raise approved this fall, he said, should be in the context of how employees were treated in the year that ended June 30. Leslie receives one evaluation, and one increase, each year, while many receive two pay increases. "I note that because you have these different anniversary dates," he said. "The freeze did not take place until July 1, and somehow you have to put it in a time frame. A number of employees received" step increases "just prior to July 1." Members of the city council contacted for this report said Leslie's position, because of its wide-ranging responsibilities, should be considered separate from other city jobs. The council also needs to keep a competitive pay scale for that top job as well, they said. "When he leaves, we want to get a good person," said Charlie Herbst, Ward 2 councilman and Mayor pro tem. Turning down the larger raise "says a lot for Doug's integrity," Herbst added. Ward 6 Councilwoman Marcia Ritter said Leslie has not tried to set himself apart from the rest of the city staff, although she added it is appropriate to do so. "I am very respectful of Doug Leslie," Ritter said. "He is in a different category but he has tried to do what is fair for the employees and put himself in the same bracket." Councilwoman Debra Tracy of Ward 3 said she views the grumbling over pay as "a family disagreement." His decision to turn down a larger raise, she said, shows Leslie's sense of fairness. "We have tried to strike a balance in all of those areas as we have made comparisons to other like cities and responsibilities," she said. "I have felt comfortable with the process on both ends and have been involved in it." 388-3642 Have a comment? Log on to semissourian.com Comments  Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on semissourian.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
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Another example all the pay increases remain at the top level positions, the worker ever once and a while might have a bone tossed at him by the big boys. This has been going on for the past eight years now it is called trickle down economics but nothing never trickles down.
"Knudtson, when asked about Leslie's salary increase, said "that is the fire pseudo-union that is pouting" and called the pay matter "an internal issue."
~shakes head~ Someone needs to remind our Honor Mayor...Taxpayer dollars are PUBLIC issues NOT an "internal issue". (Thankfully, this is his last term.)
IMO...Leslie should be receiving the exact pay raise as the rest of the City's team! What is the City Council thinking? Are they trying to undermine every single employee's moral from the firefighters to city hall employees to trash collectors?
It sounds to me like Mr. Leslie is entitled to the same consideration as any other employee. They got 4 percent last year and he gets the same. I think it is asinine to play this class envy game with him. He has a difficult job that he appears to do with grace and poise. Why not let the man alone?
I agree that the "pseudo-union" comment was not very good public relations.
I do agree with the Mayor's sentiments though. It was in poor taste to try to steal a man's justified raise when those same union members got their raises last year.
bs, lay him off like others are being laid off.
There goes Knudtson again flying off at the mouth, take Leslie's declined 4% and parlay that into a muzzle for the mayor.
The subject of pay and benefits becomes a very emotional issue that makes it difficult to hold logical discussions. "Fair" becomes subject to multiple individual interpretations. Inflammatory name-calling, finger-pointing, and whining become 'givens' when salaries are made common-knowledge.
Wondering why Cape salaries are generally lower than the average of the peer sample group used for comparison? Not only at the city manager level, but from http://www.semissourian.com/article/20081122/NEWS01/666615903 it appears that police are at the 92 percent level. Wasn't able to scrounge up numbers for the firefighters for comparison, but would guess they're in the same ballpark. It's been said that we get the government we deserve, or perhaps in this case, we get the government services that we are willing to pay for. Somewhat ironic, assuming that Cape receives a larger-than-peer-group percentage of its operating revenues from sales taxes, a good portion of those paid by non-residents.
In addition to fair compensation between respective job classifications, another component of a salary structure is retention - how much needs to be paid in order to keep the desirable people and to attract a pool of equally desirable people? The previous 15% turnover rate mentioned in the above article means that one is forced to spend time and money, and to incur lost efficiencies, in order to train, orient, and integrate approximately 1 out of 7 people into the unit or department each and every year, not to mention the job experience lost in this process. How much is all that worth, and would higher salaries provide benefits in excess of the additional costs of higher salaries? How can such a comparison even be measured in a manner satisfactory to the majority?
$600 across the board represents a lower percentage with respect to salary for the higher-paid people, such as the police and firefighters, as compared to the salaries of lesser-paid employees. IMO, a better approach would have been to proportion with base salary.
Those at minimum wage will be getting a raise by default from $6.65 to $7.05 per hour, or just over 6%.
Salary administration can drive one nuts - can't make everyone happy, but can sure make everyone mad.
“Lagging tax collections forced the city to send a memo out Nov. 4 announcing city workers would receive a $600 one-time payment Dec. 26 in lieu of a cost-of-living pay raise.” (seMissourian.com)
“Cape Girardeau will attempt to keep its budget in balance by canceling cost-of-living increases for city workers, city finance director John Richbourg said.” (seMissourian.com)
Excuse me for expecting the City Manager, Honorable Mayor and City Council to help keep the budget balanced. Lessons can be learned by watching the corporations that are falling due to paying upper management too much money…like excessive annual pay raises to the tune of $4,800, during economic downturns.
Btw… I commend Leslie on his reported, spoken words "Leslie has said that when his next evaluation is due, the council should not give him a raise unless city workers generally are receiving pay increases"
...but actions speak much louder than words.
Economic times started getting tough and the city responded by making budget cuts. This happened earlier this year and was a deciding factor for the fiscal budget the city is in right now. If you remember, part of that decision process was to cut city employees anniversary raises. They were "promised" they would get their cost of living raise if finances would allow. Economic times remained tough so EVERYONE was told that the cost of living raises would be replaced by a one time $600 payment on Dec. 26th. The issue is not that some departments are behind when compared to similar sized cities. There are many cities that are struggling when it comes to finances. That is the general condition of our county's economy. The issue is that the City said NO ONE would be getting a raise during this budget year, and obviously this is not true. When the Fire Department called the city on the "lie", they immediately went on the defensive and and the mayor immediately started his usual bullying and name calling. This brought the Fire Department to the fore-front of Knudtson's attacks. They are simply speaking on behalf of the entire city's employees who have been dealing with a two faced city government.
The whole idea behind giving a raise is to keep salaries competitive/comparable. So the "explanation" of the select few who received a raise is moot. Wouldn't it be nice to know what is REALLY going on behind closed doors? Let us start by looking at the blatant mismanagement of the quote "Public Safety Tax" that was supposed to keep salaries comparable for our city employees in the first place. It has been a short four years since that passed, but now we are back in the same boat.
jcwill,
fyi...My comment had nothing to do with "class envy" as you put it. My comments were motivated by the city's own words about fallen revenue and keeping the budget balanced. Which, IMO a manager is ultimately responsible for managing the budget's revenue and expenses.
btw..."he appears to do with grace and poise" Sir, yes sir...it is called politics.
How do we really know that he was offered 8% and declined? I don't trust 'em.
Ah - good points, 'still-amazed' - looks to be a failure in the 'say what you mean, then mean what you say' credo.
The article seems to make a distinction in the types of raises - one being a 'cost-of-living' raise occuring on 01 January, and the other being a 'step' raise on some individual anniversary date.
It appears that both types of raises are affected - no step raises to occur after 01 July 2008, and a one-time $600 payment in lieu of the cost-of-living portion that was to occur on 01 January 2009.
A bad situation that's going nowhere but worse.
Hmm...a $120,000 when have the town is losing jobs, and getting no raise at all. Must be nice.
It's like when the heads of the automakers flew to Washington on private jets to ask for bailout money: the PR cost when the public found out far exceeded any actual dollar and cents benefit to the company.
"Pseudo Union"?? I can't type exactly what I'm thinking, due to censorship issues, but you can catch my drift, I'm sure...
That's the kind of talk that provokes a strike.
I'm glad I don't live in town anymore. I don't have to deal with a Pseudo City government...just a Pseudo County government...
Anyone else in the mood for some Phil Collins? If you get that reference, kudos to you...
Oh, neat. I decide to play and the story goes away. Poo...
Jay! Havn't I told you to just be still?
You need to learn to use your tounge clutch
before you put your mouth in gear.Perhaps you
should just be quite till your last term is over.
As for pay for city managers being equal as opposed to other municipalities thats ridiculous! Too many variables involved city to city.I just hate it when people use the term "all things being equal" because they ARE NOT! As an example, my job here in cape pays
much less than most other Cities of its size.I doubt my boss will consider that as leverage if I were to demand a pay raise using that argument.Kudos to Mr.Leslie by turning down an unrealistic offer.
Josh,
Su-su-sudio!
That song Su-su-sucks!
Let's grab a cold Stag sometime.
Lump
MeLange,
I was not referring to you at all when I posted. I was referring to the "trickle down" comment made by Swampeastmissouri.
"Hmm...a $120,000 when have the town is losing jobs, and getting no raise at all. Must be nice."
People who can't spell the word "half" shouldn't even be given an application for a job.
Sorry mate, I just woke-up when I posted that. I'm feeling a bit knackered today. I also forgot a question mark, but who's counting.
Mr. Knudtson wants to keep this an "internal issue" because he has something to hide.
***Keep digging Citizens of Cape Girardeau***
You have the right to know the FACTS!
Jay... your days are numbered.
You should learn to hold your tongue and you wouldn't be in this mess now.
Have you wondered why Mr. Knudtson wanted to give Mr. Leslie an 8% increase?
May to keep quiet? Payoff? Blackmail?
Check out Payscale.com for a City Manager National Average pay.
1 yr... $59,989
1-4 yr...$69.669
5-9 yr...$72,637
10-19yr...$92,762
20+ yr...$117,109
Wow! It seems Mr. Leslie is already above the National Payscale for his years of experience. I'm not sure when he took over as City Manager... I think about 6 years ago.
However, I know he doesn't offer 20+ years of CITY MANAGER Experience.
Again... Keep digging! Mr. Knudtson doesn't want you to know the facts & Mr. Leslie is just caught up in the bad deal.
Suggest that there is more to consider with job compensation than just the years of experience - such as the total number of employees, which in turn relates to the size of the city. The scope of the job would be another consideration - don't figure that all city manager jobs have the exact same responsibilities. The location and climate - both weather-wise and work environment-wise - of the job is yet another.
From the same Payscale.com website, sorted by 'company size' - http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=City_Manager/Salary/by_Company_Size and making a rather large assumption that the 'size' refers to the number of city employees, and not the city population -
1-9_______$45,000
10-49_____$60,948
50-199____$91,566
200-599__$122,848
600-1999_$177,465
IIRC, the city of Cape has over 300 employees?
The survey data gets goofy for higher size ranges, which calls into question the validity of all data from this particular site - how does one differentiate the good data from the bad? Also, the relatively low number of responses per category begs the question of whether enough data was even acquired for this survey to obtain a good statistically-sound 'average' number that can be used with confidence to make one's point. Unfortunately this type of data is not available from many of the salary survey sites without paying a rather large subscription premium. The local benchmarking method using enough of the other regional cities of similar size is a reasonable method in lieu of a formal salary survey presenting questionable data.
If one is going to be mad, at least be mad for the right reasons.
He must work for the police department. Another Raise
jcwills- the first point that should be made is that as of July 1st, 2008- ALL city employees were told that NO ONE would be getting their "step raises" at the time of their anniversary evaluations- now the police AND the city manager HAVE gotten their pay raises, which will also go towards their retirement. The in leiu $600 is better than nothing- but it's a ONE TIME payment and will NOT go towards retirement of the other city employees. This is NOT fair or equal treatment, especially when there was "supposedly" NO money in the budget for ANY pay increases- and that's assuming that the city manager and police are the only ones who got raises.
The 2nd point to be made is that the only pay increase that the so-called "pseudo-fire union" got last year was the same step increase that ALL city employees got up to the July 1st, 2008 freeze.
To be fair, the city administration should be compairing the same city's that the city managers salary was compared to for ALL city positions and employees- if it's good enough for his salary comparison than it should be good enough for ALL employees and positions, from the sewer workers to the city engineers and lawyers.
The way I see it, a pay freeze is a pay freeze no matter what position you're in. I don't know if its true or not, but I've also heard that the police also got an extra personal day AND now get to take home the squad cars- even outside of the city limits...a free tank of gas is a free tank of gas- and if you remember back, they also took vacation time from the firemen to save money- so how fair is that sounding to you now?
The City Manager is not the only one who received a pay increase this budget year. The new Assistant City Manager got nearly 8%. Very high for a promotion when compared to other employees, especially in a tight budget.
New Assistant City Manager? When did that happen? I never saw that position advertised!
When I read what Mayor Knudtson said about the Cape Girardeau Firefighter's Association / Union, I was infuriated to the point of tears. Let me tell you about what this "pseudo-union" did for me several years ago.
My husband was killed by a drunk driver in 2001 and left me raising our three young boys. I was laid off from my full time job and ended up working two jobs in order to try to make ends meet. Christmas was coming and I had about $40 left after paying all my bills to purchase gifts for my kids. This "PSEUDO-UNION" had used their dues and personal members money to purchase my kids toys for Christmas in an Adopt a Family program. They touched my heart in a fashion that I cannot explain in words.
I later found out they annually collect money for MDA, have scholarships for kids and adopt families that need help during the holidays. This doesn't sound like a "pseudo-union" to me, Jay.
Shame, shame, shame on you Jay Knudtson. Disgraceful.
I agree with LeftofRight. Lets look past the name calling and see what kind of selfless service this so called "psuedo union" does for our community. I hope LeftofRight will have the courage to send their statement as a letter to the editor so the citizens of Cape Girardeau can read first hand that we have good hearted firefighters protecting our city on and off duty.
If you've been following this story, you should read today's paper. In the Editorial section, Dean (my dad) has written a column entitled "Firefighters local clarifies pay issues." It's available online at http://www.semissourian.com/article/20081205/OPINION01/712053925&SearchID=73338127421169.
Thank you to everyone who has written in support of the firefighters. It's much appreciated.
Christopher Lynn
Why does the city not use the same city comparison for the city manager as they do for the everyday employee?
The firefighters that cover Ballwin (West County EMS and Fire as well as Metro West) make a LOT more than the Cape Girardeau Firefighters. Oh, but that would mean a raise....
Give me my choice on who I get to compare my salary to and I promise you I will be the lowest paid every time!