You would guess the economy is A-OK by the salaries being awarded lately in our local governments. Take, for instance, Russell Benford, City Manager of North Miami. He was just hired at an annual salary of $203,000. That is excessive in my book. North Miami Councilman Scott Galvin agrees:"I voted against the salary level, believing that it is excessive for economic times like these."
In comparison Pete Hernandez, City Manager of the City of Miami was making $208,000.00, at the height of the boom years, for a much larger city and he has more experience. Still high in my opinion but when you weight it, not as high as North Miami.
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I was present when the salary discussion took place. There was no question but that the Mayor had made a deal with the new young city manager prior to the meeting.
From desk jockeys to firemen municipal and county salaries, benefit packages and pensions have become a burden on budgets and by extension taxpayers (add to that stadiums, and other unnecesary expenditures).
Look in the City of Miami and you'll find many lower middle class homes are paying upwards of $3,000 annually in property taxes.
The average City of Miami employee made 107K in 2008 and many retired city employees plus some retired politicos are reciving high five and six figure annual pensions. (city's employees etirement age is 50 and 55 for politicians).
That is unsustainable and will break the back of the much needed private sector work force in our city and county. It would be easier to win the powerball lottery that to attract major employers or viable small businesses in this environment.
Municipal salaries are totally out of control. The City of Miami Clerk works 9 months a year and makes $275,000 plus benefits. She even demands a cell phone allowance and a $800 per month vehicle allowance eventhough she does all her work from a City Hall office. Why do the Commissioners allow such a contract, especially as the City faces a $100 Million deficit? 100 people would do that job for $120,000 per year, or less.
The new Mayor of North Miami seems to have taken several wrong turns out of the gate after his election - an urgent proposal to ban helicopters in residential neighborhoods ( wtf? in north Miami? ) free city taxpayer moeny to his soccer buddies, and now leading the charge for this outrageous salary. It's going to be easy sailing for him because he has 3 minions on the dais posing as councilpersons who yes yes yes him all the way to the bank. Hold on North Miami, city with horrendous FBI crime stats, abundant foreclosures, Biscayne Landing dead dead dead and trash blowing everywhere west of Biscayne --it's going to be an ugly ride...that said, you can count on Scott Galvin, as usual, to keep it real.
High end cops and firefighters in Miami make more than top tier federal employees. Miami is a joke. Miami Beach is horrible. These cities should declare bankruptcy and start over. Civil service jobs were never high paying. By the time you get done with pension calculations the salaries and benefits equal $300,000 a year.
Ridiculous.
Please Miami Herald, start posting these salaries DAILY!!!
Any ideas on what the average person can do immediately to fight this nonsense?
JP Morgan Chase is giving it's casino bosses $26.7 billion in bonuses. We're just crabs in a barrel. All of us; Benford, police and firefighters, people who complain about the extra penny another working person might get, we're all going down together.
"Any ideas on what the average person can do immediately to fight this nonsense?"
Unfortunately not much,
You could vote but your fellow Banana Republicanites rarely do unless they have an absentee ballot and someone shows up with some goodies at the door.
You could attend a County Commission hearing and vent your fustration but chairman Moss has declared the commission chambers a First Amendment Free Zone and he will turn off your microphone and have you removed.
You can refuse to pay your property taxes but that would eventually lead to foreclosure.
Finally you can always become a fireman or take some other high paying city or county job, make deals in Panama, get your kids a no show job, while making a 6 figure income and retire on a 6 figure pension in your early 50s.
All I want is a job that I like for a salary enough to pay my bills.
I don't need gold plated toilets, I just need a potty.
The White House in Washington, DC caps its executives pay at $170,000. They manage a government of 300 Million people. Why does the City of Miami with 475,000 people pay firemen $200,000 to $300,000 per year? Plus perks?
Why does a city clerk get $275,000 per year?
Who is in charge?
Yep...North Miami is once again in the hands of an incompetent council. One member barely speaks English. One has foot-in-mouth disease. A third has a HUGE chip on their shoulder. Yet another has been a fence sitter so long, they've become a picket. And the final one, well...that one's into monarchy. Sad times for North Miami...what else is new? BTW, only one citizen publicly objected to the CM salary. But because of his crude and crass demeanor, no one of importance listens to him any longer.
The former mayor, Kevin Burns, should be held responsible for this new Haitian disaster at City Hall. He manipulated to split the election, which resulted in the run-off that gave the present mayor the victory. Kevin Burns should be forever banned from politics, and he has the GALL to run for the Martinez seat in the Senate. GIVE ME A BREAK!
I agree with the comment, "We are all going down together." We are going to sink like the Titanic - most of the elite class will survive, but only a few lower and middle class citizens will be so lucky.
"We are all going down together."
Agreed, as well. All this bickering and fighting about money is in itself another weapon of mass distraction. While we're preoccupied with our own personal stories of having our wealth robbed from us, what's really going on with this country? Think about it... Have the banks and investment companies stopped playing in the derivative game? No! They're still at it. The debt is growing exponentially and is estimated to be around 50 trillion dollars. Read some economist blogs or something, look up Max Keiser, get away from main stream media.
As normal citizens get their money and assets robbed from them by stupid and corrupt elected officials government employees benefit from their massive pay packages, their no-lay-off contracts and their Defined Benefit Penions. What Me Worry? Government employees get well paid and in many cases massively overpaid. When they retire the taxpayers continue getting hit to fund $100,000 per year pensions. There is a retired man in California who gets $500,000 per year from the taxpayers.
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