Reader thinks some Sac City employees do very little to nothing

... thinks editor needs something to do.



this is a comment that can be found in context at http://thesacnews.blogspot.com/2010/10/total-entry-level-compensation-package.html?showComment=1289330312605#c9199919237783282509

The commenter's comments are in bold, My (Curtis Bloes) comments are in regular.

"Well Curtis you are wrong on that one, some need more then just a CDL. The water treatment plant guys have to go through a lot of training and get certified to do the job."

You are right, some positions do need more than just a CDL, However, the person they are hiring and are going to spend $46,000 per year compensating, isn’t required to have any skills outside of that to start. No skills whatsoever. It is true that there are positions that employees have had to be trained to do, but this will not be true for the person that Jim Johnston, Bill Brenny, and Gary Hansen will be irresponsibly hiring to hold up a shovel in a couple of weeks.


"And there are those in maintenance that have to have a number of hours per year to be able to spray for mosquitoes. Where most of them may have not had to have a higher education to get their jobs does that make them anyless unskilled?"

Those maintenance employees spent years acquiring those skills, which makes up for the lack of formal education and they are no doubt, skilled and valuable members of the crew. The new person, that Bill Brenny, Gary Hansen, and Jim Johnston are going to irresponsibly compensate at nearly $50,000 per year to start does not have those skills. Whoever it is that they hire will spend most of their time holding up a shovel. Tell you what, I will start visiting the sites where these folks are working and providing a weekly picture of the specific person they hire holding up a shovel once per week if you would like.




"You act as if they all started out at $45K a year, most of them that make that now have worked there for 15 years or more."

I'm not acting like it. I'm reporting it, you idiot. Entry level pay for a Sac City employee costs us nearly $50K per year.

"And all this coming for a person that doesn't work!"
*smirk*

For all those of you going after the teachers, first they are the very foundation of your kids education, yes I am one the believes teachers should be the highest paid of any job, …"


I disagree. I think teachers should not be paid more than the engineer who is in charge of making sure that the Sears tower doesn’t fall down and kill thousands of people. I don’t think a teacher should get paid more than the army officer who has to decide how many of his men and women’s lives the next neighborhood over in Afghanistan is worth. I don’t think a teacher should be paid more than the CEO of a successful company that is making its shareholders rich. The list of people that deserve more pay than teachers is nearly inexhaustible. I have a lot of personal respect for teachers, but you just couldn't be more off base on this one.

"...but I had a teacher tell me that it is good a teachers wage is low that means the ones that go into teaching and are still teachers to this day really like/love their job. No one ever said life was fair, no one ever said that getting a higher education will make you a ton of money. Teachers are paid by the state, where do you think that money comes from...tax payers. Most of the city workers earn every penny, just because most of you think working for the city isn't a hard job doesn't mean it is a job for everyone."

I included this paragraph to be thorough, but I’m embarrassed for you that you didn’t re-read this paragraph to yourself before pressing send.

"There are some that do very little, there are some that do nothing and then there are those few that do a ton of work through out the day and it seems the famous 'lawn mower' gets a lot of shit on here and for what, doing his job."

You make an excellent point, and i agrre with you. Jim Johnston and Gary Hansen have made a lot of irresponsible hiring decisions in the last 15 years that are bringing the people that actually do more than hold up shovels a bad name. Since you seem to know who these people are, it’s practically your civic duty to advocate for their firing. Send a list of the people you think are stealng money from the city, and I'll take the public heat for you. thesacnews@yahoo.com

"As someone said in a post earlier, he does more then that, he does all maintenance on city vehicales, he can work in the gas department, he sprays, he does trash pick up and recycling. He takes care of all the parks, he does electral work and plumbing work, removes snow so yes he earns his money and benifits."

So the lawnmower guy is not one of the names you are going to advocate be fired? Awesome, I agree with you on that call. He is one of good ones. it was going to be painful for me if you included his name on the list of criminals you are sending me.

"You can vote in all new council members and you all might get your way of starting out at a lower wage…"

I seriously doubt it we can vote in new council members. I believe that Jim Johnston, Gary Hansen, and Bill Brenny know who butters their bread. They know as long as they continue to vote for more raises, higher starting pay, more benefits, and a larger workforce, the voting bloc comprised of the city employees and their friends and families will continue to guarantee that they remain in office. People like Jim Johnston, Gary Hansen, and Bill Brenny know that every single employee they hire just adds to the size of that voting bloc, guaranteeing that out of proportion starting salaries will stay in place.

"but like it or not the rest are all grandfathered in on their pay. And I believe that even if they all were paid less Curtis and all of you would still bitch about city employees."

I don’t think anyone would bitch if one of the two following things happened;

1. The economic development wonks went out and recruited businesses to come to town that paid anywhere near what the city pays.

2. The city actually started compensating at the prevailing local wages, instead of the fairy tale wages they think the average person in Sac City is making.

(I prefer #1, but based on what I saw from the (so called) economic development team that showed up at the November 4th, 2010 Sac City Council meeting that took place at the Sac Community Center, I’m not going to hold my breath.)

"…you need something to do."

to be honest, I kind of feel like I need less to do, and am kind of on the lookout for a part time person to do some content creation so I can spend more time away from the office.

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