A document made its way online today that reveals what our mayor makes (about $119,000, 1/3rd tax free), and more, including the city manager who makes $223,253.55 (a figure some local doctors and architects have verified online is higher than their own salaries).
Workers in comparable fields not employed by The City are also stating, in social media, The City is paying their employees better than comparable employers for the same work. It’s got everyone calling The City the most generous employer in town, with thick sarcasm and implied fiscal mismanagement in their tones.
Click here to read the document.
They’re a generous bunch, aren’t they? But fear not, Sir Galgay has stated that everything is on the table when it comes to reducing spending. But wait, not everything, right Jon? It seems the only sensible salaries on this list are for the councilors themselves, I didn’t realize Doc Dennis does twice as much work as his deputy (Not including the expense account). 1/3 of the salary tax free you say? They don’t even pay income taxes like the rest of us. The political class is starting to get out of hand, it’s no coincidence that public sector employees are the only steadily employed among us that have wages that keep up with inflation. What’s the role of government again? I’m starting to forget.
” The political class is starting to get out of hand, it’s no coincidence that public sector employees are the only steadily employed among us that have wages that keep up with inflation. What’s the role of government again? I’m starting to forget.” Sorry – but as a public sector employee I can assure you our wages are NOT kept up with inflation, in fact I won’t get a raise for at least four more years based on the system being applied by government right now; however I believe you’re also confusing ‘public sector employees’ with ‘city employees’ – huge difference. I personally only make more than one position on that list, after you take out the fact that councillor’s are only paying taxes on 2/3’s of their income.
A city employee is a public sector employee, so there is no confusion. And perhaps I wasn’t clear enough in my previous comment, but I don’t have a problem necessarily with the people making 40K to 80K per year, it’s the bloated management salaries and wages that are sucking the city dry. And in order for them to continue paying these salaries, they are discussing cutting services, when it is governments role to provide services to the public. NO-ONE should be getting rich is the public sector, weather it be a mayor, city manager, or janitor. That’s what the private sector is for. And I’m not buying the “top talent” argument, look where the so-called top talent has gotten us, on all levels of government – near record debt levels and financial turmoil. The government has gotten off track, blaming a spending problem on a lack of revenue. There’s plenty of revenue for the little city of St. John’s, but not when officials and managers are spending public money the way they spend their own money, and some, not all, lower level employees not working as efficiently as they could be, due to their sense of job security.
This is infuriating. Our taxes are being utilized to ensure city workers can live high on the hog. This is the definition of pork barrel politics, corruption. Councillors have reduced the city to a failed state where citizens are made to pay with their hard earned money so city workers and officials can maintain their oligarchy and live as if they were a ruling class. With this new information only one question comes to mind; when is the citizen revolt happening?