It appears I may be misquoted in the newspaper so I will say it here in advance.
I DID NOT SAY TO FIRE ANYONE. What I said at the public hearing and subsequently to a reporter was that we have tenured executive personnel with above average salaries. I do not think we should be budgeting 5% increases in pay at this point because these salaries are so far above national averages. I was simply pointing out one area that was easy to to demonstrate that I think we should make an effort to reduce an increase in ad valorum taxes collected to something less than double digits.
The solution is not to get rid of our tenured employees. They are highly respected, highly likeable people doing a great job for our city. For example, I’ve spent a lot of time with two of our executives, Doreen and John, over the years while using city services. They’ve been with the city many years- that’s how they got to their current salaries- steady growth. When THEY DO RETIRE of their own volition, their replacements should be hired based on compensation commensurate with the job duties using available data to determine salaries.
Should we pay extra to future hires because of the high cost of living? You can use salary.com to get a rough idea of wages in various cities. I think we should not adjust to the high end. Why? The only people who take these jobs already have other sources of income (partners, whatever) otherwise they couldn’t afford to live anywhere in south Florida! Plus the pressure here is much less than other areas- it’s a cheesepuff job comparatively to larger cities.
It will take more work than pointing out salary increases to cut a big chunk out of the budget, but we need to start somewhere! Every administrator look now- assume you MUST cut your budget 10%. What could you do without? What did you put in, not knowing that you needed the money, but just guessed that you should add a couple % points for?
Personal services are all up this year. What’s that?
Also, if you are buying anything over $10,000 post it on the web site. Our city is full of business people with tremendous knowledge and connections. Without violating any laws, I’m sure we could at least make some suggestions- however we need much more detail as to specifically what purchasing expenses there are.