Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Tonight's City Council Meeting LIVE":
Ireton and Gardener have used the employees in public works. That was clear enough last night. Cohen, Campbell, Spies and Shields had to fight tooth and nail just to get $250 bonuses and work boots for those employees. Ireton and Mitchell wanted the money to go to the Mayor's office or better yet, to spend it on something else. Those employees have been played. They all know that they could have easily gone and talked to any of those council members instead of that ugly display last night. Instead they chose to go and mix the isue of proper funding for public safety with raises. Anyone who has been paying attention kows that the pay at SPD has plenty to do with people leaving that department. I learned something new last night: it costs roughly $78,000 to recruit and train a new officer. Multiply that by the ones that have left or the vacancies created by retirement that had to be filled with new recruits because experienced officers won't take a pay cut to come to Salisbury. To continue to do that is stupidity. I understand why city employees are upset. The Mayor was hiding over $2 milion while furloughing them, but don't forget, the Mayor was hiding that information from the council and the public too. In fact, at budget time the Mayor only asked raises for a few select employees (mostly in HIS office). It was HIS job and the job of your department head to justify and advocate for a change in pay scale if there is a problem. If it hadn't been for Campbell we still wouldn't know. So, the employees should be thanking her. Her record in office shows that she will work hard to treat everyone fairly, both the employees and the taxpayers. Ireton and Gardener both need to go. I will be that some of the turnover in PW is from Gardener's poor leadership an bad temper. She hates Campbell and is unemployable if Ireton is gone, so I wouldn't be surprised if she works extra hard to paint an untrue picture of his political foes.
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Are these the same men who stand around leaning on shovels. Five watching while one digs?? The same people who allow tons of human waste leach into our river !!! Next time pick a better place to cry about your benefits. As for the women crying about her raise. The grant writeror whatever she was. The one that her husband opened a business in Salisbury. A business that is not doing that well. Could that be part of your financial issues ??
ReplyDeletePolice Officers work shift work. They work holidays. They deal with everything no one else wants to. They have been under paid for twenty years. It has cost at least a million dollars training officers just to watch then leave.
As for the rest of the city employees you will have your day. Why ride on the coat tails of those who have strived for better pay. Where were all of you when the fire dept., got multiple positions, pay, a multi-million dollar facility, A freaking boat etc... Something stinks here.
Good luck Salisbury P.D. you guys deserve it. It is long overdue.
AMEN to this post! I mostly agree with 9:55, but I thought the woman who owns the business with her husband was right on the money.
ReplyDeleteHer department head didn't do anything for her people except set them up to go begging to the council. If I was the mayor, I'd fire her butt for making him look bad. I don't think he's got the stones for it, but if I was him, I sure would.
Kudos to Chief Duncan for fighting for her people. Unlike this Gardner woman or the fire dept.'s Hoppes, she didn't send the rank and file to do her job as dept. head. She sucked it up and took it to the mayor and the council. Good for the mayor and council both on this one. I hope the mayor comes through and gives the true needed amount. Get this fixed.
Ireton's thinking is all about him. "His" department heads. He's got it all wrong, both he and all of the department heads work for the city tax payers. The same as our elected representitives.
ReplyDeleteWhen we get a mayor whose real priorities are for a better Salisbury, is when this city can finally move forward.
If we had more department heads like chief Duncan, maybe Salisbury could finally make that move forward.
Financial results should be transparent and timely.
ReplyDeleteWait and see, and this 2,000,000 that suddenly appears may disappear in the audit just as late as it arrived. There are significant post employment expenses that don't appear in the basic budget reports. All have to be careful to produce sustainable budgets. This emergency action is something that everyone has to try to avoid going forward. Budget have to be realistic including properly compensating employees.
Makes no sense. How can he hide anything? Wouldn't this info be available to anyone who requests it through PIA?
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't that money show up on the audit?
ReplyDeleteAs a public works employee I wholeheartedly endorse Barbara Duncan. She fought for and received raises for her people. THAT IS LEADERSHIP! I also tip my cap to the police who are doing a very difficult job. However, I do not believe raises should be an either / or. People work very hard in public works. Some literally are spattered with fecal matter and it's just part of the job. Some supply safe water. Where would the fire department be without the water works? How would you dispose of your waste without water for your toilet? How would you handle trash? Etc... Public Works is a job where you don't get noticed unless something goes wrong or we hire a bad apple. That doesn't justify continually furloughing us and denying us any opportunity to earn a raise. I don't want a hand out. I want the opportunity to work my tail off more than the next guy and get a raise.
ReplyDeleteIf Salisbury's last two administrations hadn't squandered money on self serving interests, this city wouldn't have some of the problems we have, even in a poor economy.
ReplyDeleteThe last two mayors have sucked the spirit out of every department.
Even though I'd like to see all city employees be treated equally, obviously not all are going to get a raise just yet.
If the department heads were able to run their own departments and be held accountable for their department, they should stand up for their employees and stop playing silly games.
The department heads need to grow a pair and address their departments needs truthfully during the budget process.
The chief of police also had the backing of the States Attorney's office for their needs. Unfortunately, the rest of the departments lack that back bone because the department heads answer only to the mayor.
City employees stand up for your rights. We tax payers are your human resources, if our elected council is not made aware of department's needs, they can't fund your department.
We also can't afford to just blindly write a blank check across the board raises beacuse this administration, and former administrations haven't been operating things on-the-level in making sure we have an informed council and properly run departments.
Elect a new mayor that isn't self serving
Joe: Let's hope that Shanie is coming around to the position of Campbell and Cohen on many things.
ReplyDeleteCan't help but believe that she sees Ireton as the jerk and buffoon that he is.