Aha. Think we’ve found the well-spring of the nonsense surrounding the crazed intention to give city of Charlotte employees a $6.1m. raise at the very moment local unemployment stands at 12 percent.
Seems that because insurance premiums went up — duh — and the city’s decision to reduce its 401(k) match, city employees have talked themselves into believing an increase in their base salary is not really a raise. To wit via WCNC:
Tom Brewer, vice-president of the Charlotte Fire Fighters Association, said while he understands the reluctance of some city leaders to approve a pay hike, employees have seen their net pay shrink in the last year.
“When you add all the numbers together and you add up the whole picture, I’m not sure you can call it a raise,” he said.
Tom, buddy. Thank God you put out fires and don’t balance books. The city does not pay just your net pay it pays everything. It is called total compensation. If employee contributions to health insurance premiums went up, you can bet the city portion of that went up too — probably by at least as much. In a sense you already got a raise because of that increase in the cost of the total compensation package you receive.
Now where it gets weird is the city opting to cut back on the 401(k) match and float the notion of base salary bumps. Much simpler just to keep the match were it was — also good long-term pension planning as well — and forget about salary increases.
In any event, there is absolutely no case for base salary increases for city employees in mid-2010. None. To be blunt, where would city employees go? To other fire departments in the county? To other police departments? To other transportation departments? Water systems? We need some clarity of thinking on this matter, not the likes of Councilwoman Nancy Carter acting like the city has a magic money machine in the basement.
One other point. If city council adopts salary increase for city employees this year, it will make voting to cut the city property tax rate to revenue neutral rate after next year’s reval that much harder. Now if that is City Manager Curt Walton’s actual goal with his ill-timed raise proposal, he should have the guts to stand up and say so.
