From www.dictionary.com
Niggardly
–adjective
1. reluctant to give or spend; stingy; miserly.
I received an email from Mr. Kent Davy, editor of the North County Times asking about a proposal to give the Encinitas City Manager a pay raise and so I sent him what I thought was a reasoned response. I got no feedback from him via email, but today the editorial encourages the Encinitas City Council to stiff the City Manager who hasn’t had a raise in three years, and gives no valid fiscal rationale for it other than basically just because we can!
My email to Mr. Davy :
Kent,
Please view the background report here: http://archive.ci.encinitas.ca.us/weblink8/0/doc/654963/Page1.aspx
The bottom line is that Phil Cotton has done a great job. He’s saved the City millions of dollars operationally and he’s had no pay adjustment since 2007.
Also, Encinitas has a policy of paying its employees in the “median” of comparison Cities and his wages have slipped about 12% below that threshold.
I realize some Cities around the County are truly struggling; as are many families, but Encinitas City employees have lower retirement than most (2.7% at 55 instead of 3% @ 50), our employees contribute to their retirement plan, and we do not pay for retiree Health Insurance (big expense). On the income side, our real estate values and thus property tax base has remained remarkably stable, and sales taxes, while down, are not our major source of income to the City.
In short, our 245 or so general employees have gotten a 3.5% each year (2008, 2009, and 2010) per their contract, our budget is balanced, and I believe the one City Manager who helps with all this should get a raise. My initial proposal was for 11% plus 1% deferred comp which would bring him to the area median, as well as make-up for the years where the City Council did not adjust his pay. And frankly, it was also colored in part because I knew my cohort on the sub-committee (Ms. Barth) would recommend $0.
The last time this was on the agenda, a few weeks ago, Councilman James Bond said something to the effect that he had served on the City Council with each City Manager the City has ever employed, and by a large margin, Phil Cotton is the best City Manager we’ve ever had. That’s high praise indeed.
As you may have guessed by now, I believe excellent performance deserves reward, not a politically easy cold shoulder. And frankly, Encinitas can afford it.
My hope is that the City Council will find an acceptable compromise and adjust the pay of the City manager, in some fair manner, between both extreme recommendations.
Thanks for your willingness to hear my reasoning on this politically delicate matter. I do appreciate it.
Jerome Stocks
I’ll add that the City of Encinitas has more money in its reserve accounts now than ever before. But hey, times are tough all over, let’s screw everybody we can, right? It’s the politically correct thing to do!
Comments 8
Boo hoo! Poor Phil Cotton only makes $216K a year to manage a smallish, bedroom community of rich, white people. Poor guy.
Whether it be the SANDAG executive director or his own city manager, seems like Jerome can always find a reason to raise public employee salaries.
Wish he were half as vigilant in fighting local taxes.
Boy, I saw the title and thought it was another UCSD story. Glad you put a definition.
A well-known 1990s controversy in which someone’s use of the word resulted in him having to resign a position due to backlash from those believing the term to be racist, culminated in this:
Julian Bond, then chairman of the NAACP, deplored the offense that had been taken at the use of the word. “You hate to think you have to censor your language to meet other people’s lack of understanding”, he said. “(He) should not have quit. (His employer) should bring him back — and order dictionaries issued to all staff who need them.”
So, don’t even go there — those of you simpletons champing at the bit about the use of the word here. It would be like someone upset by use of the word fuschia.
Well, we can all be sure about one thing, when it comes to giving big pay hikes and bonuses to public employees, Jerome is anything but “niggardly.”
BTW Thor’s assistant, impressed by your correct use of the expression “champing at the bit.” Most people get it wrong. Drives me nuts.
Thanks much. You make me feel like a champ, and I’m not horsing around.
I guess the “ain’t no worker worth more than $0.25 cents per hour” mentality is alive and well here in San Diego County!
Anybody else notice the massive raise recently given to the PPH Executive Director? How about the major dollars paid to the Tri-City Director?
And don’t get me started on that pathetic clown and his henchmen!
No raise granted…
http://m.nctimes.com/news/local/encinitas/article_ea6eb707-64e5-5a23-b392-74eb8fd09f3c.html
From the North County Times:
“A proposal to give Encinitas City Manager Phil Cotton an 11 percent raise failed to gain approval this week from the Encinitas City Council….
The dissenter was Councilman Jerome Stocks, who served on city manager contract subcommittee and wrote the raise proposal recommendation. On Thursday morning, he said that “even I wasn’t really pushing for an 11 or 12 percent raise,” but added that he wanted Cotton to receive 3.5 percent”
Way to go Jerome. Either you were completely wrong or this was your “Profile in Courage” moment.
BTW your post says “My initial proposal was for 11% plus 1% deferred comp which would bring him to the area median, as well as make-up for the years where the City Council did not adjust his pay.” but your quoted as saying you weren’t really for a an 11 % raise. Which one was it?