Mayor Asks Employees To Give Up Raises
Published: January 14, 2009
Updated: January 15, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio —Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman is asking city employees from five city unions, including police and firefighters to give up their pay raises for 2009.
In a letter to unions on Wednesday, Coleman detailed his need to cut $13 million in order to balance the city’s budget. He said it’s the only way he can avoid more layoffs and service cuts.
In addition to pay raises, the mayor is asking employees to give up their service credit pay for the numbers of years they’ve worked for the city.
Fraternal Order of Police Jim Gilbert said the mayor’s request is unacceptable.
“He wants us to reply to him within the next nine days. The contract team, we are currently in negotiations with the city negotiating our next contract. We’ve been at the table several months now with the city and now the mayor is calling for immediate action and this is completely unacceptable with how we have negotiated in the past with the city,“ Gilbert said.
Coleman said the only way he can avoid more layoffs and service cuts is to have employees sacrifice salaries.
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Reader Reactions
I retired from the City of Columbus almost six years ago when I felt there was waste and mismanagement by the current administration. I see there has been no change in the way they do business. Make the adminisrtation account for their spending, by some type on independant accounting agency, before allowing them to layoff more employees.
Mayor Coleman has hit an all time low. He has been backed by local unions during his runs for City Council, Lt. Govenor, Mayor and Govenor (before his wife discrased the City).It is time for the Unions of this City to Unite. No more support (which really mean campaign donations) to the rat that would try to back the unions in a corner and give an ultimatium on a contractual item. Are you kidding me? Every Union Bargained in good faith with the City and received their raises by giving something else up. The Mayor is overloaded with Chiefs of Staff making 6 digits and has lost the trust of us all. Mike must GO!!! Police,and Fire can never be touched. These brave men put their lives on the line every single day for their fellow man. They have each taken an oath to protect and serve and they all do, with pride. What an insult that the mayor would even try this smear tactic to the media and try and back these people and their unions in a corner. I would like to see a person by person review of every single person working in City Hall. I wonder how many of them have been asked too, and have given up their wage increases already. I would really like to see how many of his 6 digit lackees have!
Disgusted Voter
One last thought on Mayor Coleman’s suggestion for city employees to forego their raises this year. It would seem that Mayor Coleman received a $30,000 raise (9% increase) last year. If I received that large of a raise, I could safely say, I could forego a raise this year also. Mayor Coleman should be ashamed! You’re trying to appear humble and say “Hey, I’m going to forego mine too!“ In reality your raise last year easily covers two or three years worth of raises…you’re really not that impressive.
Mayor Coleman’s Department Mission Statement says, and I quote “To ensure the safety and prosperity of all citizens of Columbus..“. In addition, one of the tenets in the “Columbus Covenant” is this; “Safety – enhance the delivery of safety services” and “Neighborhoods – engage and promote strong, distinct, and vibrant
neighborhoods”. My question is this, has Mayor Coleman looked at other options than the one proposed? Did he in fact request a $13 million bail out from the Federal Government to apply toward ensuring these two tenets in his Covenant be upheld? I am not so sure. The light rail system is what I believe he wanted the bail out money for. Is this really necessary at this time? What about the millions of dollars spent on the Trolley idea? Is that something necessary right now to create a vibrant and safe city in which to raise our families? My thought is that breaking a contractual agreement with the city employees by offering the ultimatum of giving up your raises or risk layoffs is unfair and gives him the opportunity to make the city employees look like the “bad guys” for not going along with it. Come on Mayor Coleman!! Use some of your top end people you’re paying top dollar to to work with you to come up with a better plan. A city can’t be vibrant and thriving if these employees lose their jobs. Taking away a pay raise no matter what it is is asking a lot for our public servants who are shot at, spit at, running into fires, pulling people from the river, investigating bomb threats, etc., and especially in such a short period of time. People of Columbus need to look deeper into Mayor Coleman’s proposals and do some checking into where our monies have been spent. I think it is time for a change….I won’t be voting for Mayor Coleman again, I can tell you that.
It goes without saying that these are tough times, but many good points have been made about being top heavy in management and in the mayor’s office. The city agreed to a contract with the firefighters and afscme, and now want to break it. They are putting the police in an awful bind during negotiations. The union workers in this city range from tradesmen to highly skilled paramedics, from sanitation workers to the mechanics who do their best to keep up with an old fleet. Captjack said it best, let’s see what all the vital employees in the mayor’s office are making an hour and then see where we can trim. The mayor is acting heroic for “foregoing” his raise, but at a salary of $150,000/yr, let’s not start a food drive just yet. I thought a raise was something earned for doing a good job, a reward, not an entitlement. The union contracts were earned, and some even settled by an unbiased arbitrator. To allow the city to break these contracts because they want to make up for mismanagement sets a dangerous precedent, and dumps the prolems of society square in the lap of the “middle class”, a group so affectionately talked about during the election. Honor your word, and don’t use a ridculously short time frame to respond, and the threat of layoffs to try and intimidate the people who do the jobs that you can’t/won’t/don’t want to do. I’d like to see the mayor’s $43/hr spokesperson cradle an infant in cardiac arrest, face down a gun, or crawl around in the sewers. If they are as ruthless in the execution of layoffs as they are in demanding the breach of contract, he may just get a chance.
I don’t think anyone is trying to say who has a more important job. I know there are a lot of people in society who work very hard for what they have. We are discussing the city employee’s who sacrifice a lot for the citizens. The sanitation department works very hard in all temperatures doing a thankless job, our fireman do everything they can to save our homes, business’, and even our family pets at the risk of their own lives. Our police go out on a daily basis knowing that it is very possible they MAY NOT GO HOME AT THE END OF THEIR SHIFT. Police see and at times do things in order to serve the public that most would not be capable of ( I.E.Give their lives for a total stranger where most would only risk it all for their own). I don’t think anyone commenting is saying that one job is more important than the other. We just need to recognize and compensate those who would pick up our trash, or lay down their lives for their fellow man.
Granted, police and fire put their lives on the line everyday for the general public. They are greatly appreciated and needed. That does not, however, mean that my husbands job is not just as important to our lives and our household. A lot of people put their lives in jeopardy while on the job by running heavy/dangerous equipment, working with dangerous items and such. Not to mention just being out on the roads to and from work. Most people could claim their job is important to the daily necessities of local life, so saying one deserves a raise over another is not fair. My husband works HARD. He puts in 10 hour days 5 to 6 days a week. He drives 40 minutes both ways. He leaves the house at 5 AM and gets home at 5:30 PM. He is on his feet the whole day. You try it and see how you like it and then be told you don’t get a raise for the past year and coming year! But he is willing to put up with it for the good of the company. Without the company he wouldn’t have a job! More people need to realize this and be more willing to sacrifice for the good of society.
First off, as an individual, I feel in the economical state of our country, the majority of the population is suffering, some form of financial hardship. I feel quite lucky to have a job right now.
What seems to be happening quite often in work places to cut back costs is, management choosing the easy fix to the situation. “Yea cut staff, that will fix a big chunk of my budget issue”. No brainer for management. “Why work harder than I have to, by looking into financial waste we might have, probably do. Not my problem, I’m safe from losing my job, pay and benefits”. Seems to me, some of these companies and especially the CITY right now, needs to look at some of their wasteful spending.
Maybe Mayor Coleman needs to cut his own wasteful spending from expensive lunches to multimillion dollar ideas and stop looking at the easy fix for his mistakes and start doing his job “Manage the City of Columbus”. He should stop thinking about what material things our city has to the on looking outside world and start thinking about what services our city government needs to have for the people we have here right now.
We need the services that city employees supply. Do you want to be the one to break up a fight, have a gun pointed at you, run into a burning building, take a mutilated victim off the pavement from a auto accident, pickup other peoples garbage, go down into a manhole under our sidewalks and streets, take a child’s hand, who you know has very little in his life and try to give them hope, then be the one to look in their eyes as you close the one door that was open to keep them safe. This is just a small example of the things these employees do. I am glad we have people who are able and willing to do the things I’m not. I believe they already do a lot for us right now, without taking a pay cut or be threatened.
Mayor Coleman, DO YOUR JOB and work harder to cut wasteful spending, not pay, jobs, or services!!!!! You know about wasteful spending and the majority of the population knows it and has seen it.
Why doesn’t the mayor give up on the light rail system. No-one wants it, use the money for the hard working city employees who keep this city safe and running.
Please go back and re-read the article
the mayor is not just asking the police to go with out a payraise this year he is asking everyone I was not refering to JUST police and I applogize if I mis-spoke regarding reciprocity payments what I should have said was MOST FULLTIME employees receive this, and to clarify no part-time employees receive this because they dont get anything to begin with
and as for your comment regarding the person who said about not sitting at whitecastle all day and get back to work Maybe they work there or live accross the street and maybe there NOT refering to POLICE OFFICERS at all i didnt see that anywhere in there comment I realize your angry but in the present state of this ecconomy we all need to work together for the good of everyone I realize your job is Dangerous but the only way to keep more people from being layed off and NOT HAVING POLICE OR FIREFIGHTERS LAYED OFF THERE BY REDUCING THE AMOUNT ON THE STREET SERVING THE PUBLIC we have to work together!
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