The Miami Herald, hammering on the Mayor since last Sunday, has a column and a news story today on the Mayor's raises to staff and the shuffling around of personnel to make it seem like he had reduced staff. The Herald calls him the Man who always saw things as black and white. I agree, so how then did Mayor Alvarez get into operating in the gray area? My guess: Most likely County Manager George Burgess (always making concessions and edgy ethical "deals"). It also could be some shitty adviser on the Mayor's staff, doubt that but I do think Mayor Alvarez was taught these bad tricks. I truly don't think that Alvarez, on his own, could have thought up the back-dated raises to throw off Commissioner Sally Heyman's public records request. That is not what he has been about his whole career. I don't think he is a sneaky guy by nature. I think he took bad advice and it dug him into a deep hole. He is responsible for the hole but the shoveling of the crap, I am inclined to think it is not him although he consented to it -- putting aside his ideals.Mr. Mayor, as a Monday morning quarterback let me say: Rather than raising salaries of your staff to be more in line with the Manager's office, you should have fired the Manager, like you were suppose to when you became strong Mayor, and then, you should have given the Manager's staff a choice of lower wages or the door.
24 comments:
Horrible art, Gen
You are being naive about the mayor. He was a police director that survived the county system for 26 years.
He has always known how to play games. He is good at hiding that fact and he always surrounds himself with loyal henchmen.
Of course, you have to contact retired police staff for the truth. No one who has any relationship to the county will speak out. Even former officers who have jobs/retirement businesses that Alvarez could impact using his influence will not speak about what they saw in the department. They are too afraid.
Even if the manager stayed, the move would have made more sense if he had raised some salaries while lowering those of assistant county managers to be more reasonable. all of them make at or around 200,000 to check in on department directors and answer questions from commissioners. each of the assistants have an assistant making 100,000 to 150,000 to help them do that too.
To be honest, I don't care what anybody makes. Just be great at your chosen job because you are getting hard earned public dollars.
If pay at the county was based on actual job performance, well now Ollie, I'd be surprised if anyone made more than minimum wage.
Well Genious there lies the problem he should have gotten rid of the manager but I dont think he cant do the job without him. So what was all the push for strong mayor, ego?
The strong mayor was a push to achieve more balance in county government between the Commission and the Mayor's office, ie; executive and legislative. It was not about Alvarez, he was just the messenger delivering the message. Everything looks worse now because the whole economic system in the US, not just here, has gone to crap. Things will get better folks.
Yes, the immediate issue is that now more voters see Alvarez for what he really is and that is a cog in the huge wheel of Miami Dade bureacracy, unwilling to make change or really rock the boat.
The big picture is that we have too many high level employees in count govt and too many of those make earn too much for what they do and in comparison to even the above average wage earner in the community, are over-paid. How can those who are supposed to guard us from lobbyists and land use attys really do that job when they can afford to vacation with the fat cats and join the same exclusive clubs, all on the salary of a govt employee ?
What goes on in County Hall is also happening throughout local govt. Take Homestead for example. The Mayor there ( who with her current majority can do whatever she wants)just gave her city manager the equivalent of a 15% raise as an add on item to a committee of the whole agenda, while allowing him to ask the rank and file to give up the 5% raise he had negotiated with the unions.
What you are saying G.o.D. is that the mayor is not clever enough to pull off such a scheme but Burgess is. You are too polite. I agree that the Mayor is not too shady, because I think he is marginally smart at best.
Horrible art? It got your attention. Yeah, it is pretty gross.
In response to the anonymous who said this, Take Homestead for example. The Mayor there ( who with her current majority can do whatever she wants)just gave her city manager the equivalent of a 15% raise as an add on item to a committee of the whole agenda, while allowing him to ask the rank and file to give up the 5% raise he had negotiated with the unions.
Correct me if I am wrong but the manager in Homestead Mike Shehadah had replaced Curtis Ivy, Richard Stauts, Marleen Volkart and Daniel Wick with himself and his assistant replaced him as he was the assistant city manager. In the paradigm of doing more with less replacing five with two seems to fit the bill.
Anytime you go from $600K in salaries down to $240K I think that is a win for the people of Homestead. Toss in 6 benefit packages now down to 2 also helps the cause. Unlike the county those people are not in other depts., they are history.
Wake up to the truth Homestead!
Maybe everyone on this blog would be saying nice things about the Mayor if he got drunk and drove his car in to a river resulting in the death of a young woman. Chris Mathews would be all teary eyed for the Mayor then.
m
Where is everyone's perspective?
M? Are you being a Dufus?
I do not think you are funny. Why would you want the mayor drunk and pulling a Ted? Does the mayor bother you that much?
I think they are crying in Boston.
It really seems like you are irritated by the media coverage. You turn off the TV if it annoys you, silly person. And don't read the papers or the net.
To wake up to the truth Homestead:
Great job of ignoring the issue and deflecting the crticism. If you were interested in the truth, you would recognize the point and that is the Manger is over paid. When two can ostensibly do the job of 5, it tells me there were too many on the payroll, not that the two remaining are worth that much more or are working harder. The job of Stauts /Wick no longer exists, and the dept has been dispersed over several areas which I am sure you do not account for. Again, it is not about the savings, it is about the actual amount paid and how the raise was accomplished.
Bus Drivers making 80K + base (+Benefits)? What's wrong with this picture? I'm not saying you pay them minmium wage but there has to be a limit no matter how many years you drive a bus.
The mayor is just the tip of the iceberg, look beneath the surface and you will see a system rampant with overpaid employees.
Genius, this Mayor knew exactly what he was doing when he signed the order making the salary increases retroactive to the previous fiscal year. Please, we all know that the Strong Mayor form of government was the brain child of a lobbyist, with close ties to Alvarez and Penelas, who first conceived of the plan when Penelas was in office, but decided to saddle and ride Alvarez because of the "clean" image he once had as Police Chief. By the way, that clean image was virtue of the fact that no one was really watching that closely. What is Alvarez today, an inept dicator, who is not man enough to take up the responsibilities he pushed for!! We cannot waste another 3 years on the man.. RECALL!!
M.
we are nicer to the Mayor on this blog than the Herald is...I still think he is getting a worse rap than he deserves and I would not recall him. I put money on the recall of Seijas so I am not against recall.
You are being much kinder. But then, you don't really need to sell anything, like the Herald does.
m
Math in Homestead remains an obstacle. Hatred of a woman mayor has replaced it. Gimmy got it right, brain-dead Homestead. They need a walk in anger management center down there.
Stop hding behind the gender thing. Deflecting the real issue once again, man or woman, it is not honest.
Somebody has to get over being beaten by a woman TWICE! The Homestead city manager is now making what the former manager made and is doing a better job. The guy saves so much money because of his engineering background and these past losers keep taking shots at him.
Go find Shiver and relive the glory of corruption.
Does the county use the Hay system of evaluating job compensation or something similar? If not, they should. Perhaps we should ask about that.
Reference: wiki.answers.com/Q/The_Hay_Job_Evaluation_System - 60k
Once again, not being honoest about the numbers and hiding behind the gender defense. The present manager makes far more than Ivy did. Check it out. The facts do not lie, you do.
This picking on the woman defense in order to deflect from the real issue is wearing thin with all genders. Facts do not lie, you apparently do. the current manager makes more than Ivy did. Is he worth it, maybe, but be honest about how the last raise was passed and stop blaming every contrary opinion on those who "hate" women, becasue they do not agree with you
This is fascinating and all coming from a person who voted for the former Homestead managers golden parachute. Not that he needed it when you consider all of the under the table cash flow pouring in from developers. The good old boy network is gone and Homestead has had real change and take notice who is backing Bateman, the good old boys and the bankers and those who were on the city dime. lol
Give it up with this stupid thread on anti abortion activist mayor in Homestead.
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