Bureaucratic hypocrites?
Lead Summary
By
Rory Ryan-hcpress@cinci.rr.com
An alarming report from the Ohio Senate is out this week and it paints a sordid and disturbing picture.
Joe Guillen of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer has an interesting story online at cleveland.com.
It seems "while local governments across Ohio consider layoffs and other ways to cope with recent state budget cuts, Ohio Senate leaders have handed out sizable pay raises with bonus checks to several staffers," Guillen writes.
According to Senate payroll records, these pay hikes were retroactive to January and ranged from 4 to 33 percent. They were given to 19 workers – from both political parties.
"Republican Senate President Tom Niehaus defended the increases, saying they were approved to keep his most dependable workers from leaving for other jobs," Guillen said.
"But Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association president Stephen Loomis called the raises hypocritical given the economic climate and the fight over Senate Bill 5, which has scrutinized public workers' pay and benefits. 'I don't want to hear about how good the chief of staff is, or the page is sitting behind a mahogany desk,' Loomis said. 'Any way you cut it, it's hypocritical. Nobody should be talking about pay raises anywhere.'"
I tend to agree with Officer Loomis on this one.
When a small southern Ohio county – i.e., Highland – has recently reduced its budget by more than $2.5 million and while many other rural government offices are facing difficult budgets, it's a bit of a slap in the face to see those in Columbus increasing payroll as they stress the need for cuts on the local levels.
Didn't Gov. Kasich and the GOP-controlled General Assembly recently agree to a two-year budget that includes a 34-percent reduction in local government funding?
These folks in Columbus are about as hypocritical as President Obama naming Jeffrey Immelt the chairman of his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. (At least one Ohio congressman, Democrat Dennis Kucinich, has called on Immelt to resign for sending advanced technology – and potential jobs – from the U.S. to China.)
Among the double-digit pay increases approved by the Ohio Senate are: Matt Schuler, chief of staff, majority (Republican) caucus, from $123,510 to $138,507, a 12.1-percent increase; Liz Connolly, deputy chief of staff, majority caucus, from $101,130 to $116,126, a 14.8-percent increase; and Amanda Hoyt, chief of staff, minority (Democrat) caucus, from $94,994 to $105,997, an 11.6 percent.
The Associated Press reported that "Payroll data show 19 Senate caucus employees – not quite 20 percent of the staff – got pay hikes since July worth about $160,000 combined. Four employees – the chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, finance director, and clerk – saw bumps of more than $8,000 a year each on salaries already around $100,000."
To put the $8,000 raise into another perspective: This is more than 50 percent of an Ohio minimum wage earner's YEARLY compensation.
Meanwhile, opponents of Senate Bill 5 – now State Issue 2 – can be expected to have a field day with this report. And why not? After all, it's Gov. Kasich and the Republican majority who have been preaching – ad nauseam – about smaller government, pension reform, collective bargaining reform, etc., etc.
Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond, attempted to justify the salary increases by offering the following statement: "These are all performance-based increases. So it's consistent (with SB 5)," he said. "There is nothing in Senate Bill 5 that prevents anyone from getting raises."
Maybe not. But the impetus behind the legislation was to reduce, not increase, that age-old, three-headed government fiscal monster known as SWB: Salaries, Wages and Benefits.
Moreover, if Ohio senators, were truly proud of these additional expenses in the midst of our Great Recession, why weren't they upfront with taxpayers? Why not hold a press conference and announce these retroactive "merit-based" raises? Why did it take a government watchdog organization to bring these raises to the light of day?
(I'm sure we all know the answers to those questions.)
It's time for Gov. Kasich, Sen. Niehaus, et al. to lead by example. Better yet, pay a visit to Highland County's unemployed, under-employed and minimum-wage earners and explain to them why some of your pals – who were already making more than $100,000 a year – merit pay increases of $8,000.
You won't do that, of course, because there is no justification for it.
If the fate of Senate Bill 5 wasn't already a given, it is now. Ohio lawmakers, particularly the Republican majority, have failed the credibility test.
Welcome back to the era of Big Government. We hardly missed ye.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
Joe Guillen of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer has an interesting story online at cleveland.com.
It seems "while local governments across Ohio consider layoffs and other ways to cope with recent state budget cuts, Ohio Senate leaders have handed out sizable pay raises with bonus checks to several staffers," Guillen writes.
According to Senate payroll records, these pay hikes were retroactive to January and ranged from 4 to 33 percent. They were given to 19 workers – from both political parties.
"Republican Senate President Tom Niehaus defended the increases, saying they were approved to keep his most dependable workers from leaving for other jobs," Guillen said.
"But Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association president Stephen Loomis called the raises hypocritical given the economic climate and the fight over Senate Bill 5, which has scrutinized public workers' pay and benefits. 'I don't want to hear about how good the chief of staff is, or the page is sitting behind a mahogany desk,' Loomis said. 'Any way you cut it, it's hypocritical. Nobody should be talking about pay raises anywhere.'"
I tend to agree with Officer Loomis on this one.
When a small southern Ohio county – i.e., Highland – has recently reduced its budget by more than $2.5 million and while many other rural government offices are facing difficult budgets, it's a bit of a slap in the face to see those in Columbus increasing payroll as they stress the need for cuts on the local levels.
Didn't Gov. Kasich and the GOP-controlled General Assembly recently agree to a two-year budget that includes a 34-percent reduction in local government funding?
These folks in Columbus are about as hypocritical as President Obama naming Jeffrey Immelt the chairman of his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. (At least one Ohio congressman, Democrat Dennis Kucinich, has called on Immelt to resign for sending advanced technology – and potential jobs – from the U.S. to China.)
Among the double-digit pay increases approved by the Ohio Senate are: Matt Schuler, chief of staff, majority (Republican) caucus, from $123,510 to $138,507, a 12.1-percent increase; Liz Connolly, deputy chief of staff, majority caucus, from $101,130 to $116,126, a 14.8-percent increase; and Amanda Hoyt, chief of staff, minority (Democrat) caucus, from $94,994 to $105,997, an 11.6 percent.
The Associated Press reported that "Payroll data show 19 Senate caucus employees – not quite 20 percent of the staff – got pay hikes since July worth about $160,000 combined. Four employees – the chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, finance director, and clerk – saw bumps of more than $8,000 a year each on salaries already around $100,000."
To put the $8,000 raise into another perspective: This is more than 50 percent of an Ohio minimum wage earner's YEARLY compensation.
Meanwhile, opponents of Senate Bill 5 – now State Issue 2 – can be expected to have a field day with this report. And why not? After all, it's Gov. Kasich and the Republican majority who have been preaching – ad nauseam – about smaller government, pension reform, collective bargaining reform, etc., etc.
Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond, attempted to justify the salary increases by offering the following statement: "These are all performance-based increases. So it's consistent (with SB 5)," he said. "There is nothing in Senate Bill 5 that prevents anyone from getting raises."
Maybe not. But the impetus behind the legislation was to reduce, not increase, that age-old, three-headed government fiscal monster known as SWB: Salaries, Wages and Benefits.
Moreover, if Ohio senators, were truly proud of these additional expenses in the midst of our Great Recession, why weren't they upfront with taxpayers? Why not hold a press conference and announce these retroactive "merit-based" raises? Why did it take a government watchdog organization to bring these raises to the light of day?
(I'm sure we all know the answers to those questions.)
It's time for Gov. Kasich, Sen. Niehaus, et al. to lead by example. Better yet, pay a visit to Highland County's unemployed, under-employed and minimum-wage earners and explain to them why some of your pals – who were already making more than $100,000 a year – merit pay increases of $8,000.
You won't do that, of course, because there is no justification for it.
If the fate of Senate Bill 5 wasn't already a given, it is now. Ohio lawmakers, particularly the Republican majority, have failed the credibility test.
Welcome back to the era of Big Government. We hardly missed ye.
Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]