$100k city administrator

[b4real]

Originally Posted by Ben Hilton

Wow, what a retirement job, I'm going back to school! If I train now, maybe when he"s done, I will apply. Whew hooo, City wages in the Ozarks Country.

I'll first apply to run say, Buckhorn or Conway then on to Lebanon.

Don't forget to stop over in BFE, Wisconsin to run a "village". All the hamlet jobs were taken.

[b4real]

Originally Posted by RIchard Bland

That doesn't seem so totally outrageous. What do you think would be a "reasonable" price for a competent city administrator? And I'm not exactly sure what the unemployment rate has to do with what you'd pay somebody in that position.

Whatever the payscale for the job stipulates it is. One of the mayors whines was not having standardized job titles, descriptions, salary ranges, and requirements for the position. The mayor made a big deal about how important these things are for the good of the city and the employees.

Then what did he do? He went outside of the payscale guidelines he had harped on so much just to get his boy hired. Seems like HIS rules don't apply when it's something/somebody HE wants. Thus the special meeting with council. We end up paying 20% more for an unproven priduct. Makes sense to me. Hell lets give him $150k he will do that much better right?

"And I'm not exactly sure what the unemployment rate has to do with what you'd pay somebody in that position." I gave you credit for being smarter than that but maybe I was wrong. Here's a hint. Econ 101. Look under supply and demand. That should provide you with an answer.

[momathome]

Originally Posted by RIchard Bland

That doesn't seem so totally outrageous. What do you think would be a "reasonable" price for a competent city administrator? And I'm not exactly sure what the unemployment rate has to do with what you'd pay somebody in that position.

Competent is the real isue here. If he is and has a bach. degree in buisness and has at least 8 years of being a city administator , in a city of same size or larger and with the same budget as Lebanon . The average pay scale would be 59000 to 100000 per year. But this is based on the size of the city. Lebanon is not the smallest nor is it the largest . I would think that we would fall into the 65000 to 75000 area of that scale. If he has the qualifications. So yes if you look at that then you can say we are paying a premium for someone that has not held a city admin job in the same town for more than six years at a time , If he is all that great why only six years. hummmmm.
I got my information from a web site call rate you pay. It takes some time to get all of the informaion but it is there. While your at it look at some of the other jobs that the city has , anyone under managment is way underpaid for a city of this size in mo. Dont make much sence to me , But I guess I am not as smart as the Mayor. After all he works for the government and we know how intelagent they are.

[momathome]

Originally Posted by momathome

Competent is the real isue here. If he is and has a bach. degree in buisness and has at least 8 years of being a city administator , in a city of same size or larger and with the same budget as Lebanon . The average pay scale would be 59000 to 100000 per year. But this is based on the size of the city. Lebanon is not the smallest nor is it the largest . I would think that we would fall into the 65000 to 75000 area of that scale. If he has the qualifications. So yes if you look at that then you can say we are paying a premium for someone that has not held a city admin job in the same town for more than six years at a time , If he is all that great why only six years. hummmmm.
I got my information from a web site call rate you pay. It takes some time to get all of the informaion but it is there. While your at it look at some of the other jobs that the city has , anyone under managment is way underpaid for a city of this size in mo. Dont make much sence to me , But I guess I am not as smart as the Mayor. After all he works for the government and we know how intelagent they are.

As far as the employment rate , well how many people has the city laid off in the last year because they could not afford to keep them , but we can afford him. I think that has a lot to do with it.

[minime]

Originally Posted by momathome

Competent is the real isue here. If he is and has a bach. degree in buisness and has at least 8 years of being a city administator , in a city of same size or larger and with the same budget as Lebanon . The average pay scale would be 59000 to 100000 per year. But this is based on the size of the city. Lebanon is not the smallest nor is it the largest . I would think that we would fall into the 65000 to 75000 area of that scale. If he has the qualifications. So yes if you look at that then you can say we are paying a premium for someone that has not held a city admin job in the same town for more than six years at a time , If he is all that great why only six years. hummmmm.
I got my information from a web site call rate you pay. It takes some time to get all of the informaion but it is there. While your at it look at some of the other jobs that the city has , anyone under managment is way underpaid for a city of this size in mo. Dont make much sence to me , But I guess I am not as smart as the Mayor. After all he works for the government and we know how intelagent they are.

So does my husband...

[RIchard Bland]

Originally Posted by b4real

"And I'm not exactly sure what the unemployment rate has to do with what you'd pay somebody in that position." I gave you credit for being smarter than that but maybe I was wrong. Here's a hint. Econ 101. Look under supply and demand. That should provide you with an answer.

I thought you were smarter than that, too, even though you do have an MBA. Hmm, so there's 11% unemployment. Do you think Albert Pujols should take a pay cut as a result? By your reasoning, because unemployment is high, presumably they should cut the salaries of firefighters and police officers, too. Not to mention doctors and nurses. Yes, I'm sure the quality of service won't suffer a bit, and there are lots of unemployed folks in line who can step into the jobs, no problem.

The pay scale for some positions is not very elastic (since you're talking Econ 101). A good administrator--or a good doctor, or a good policeman--might just shrug and walk away if you're not willing to offer them what they require. Given the potential cost of bad decisions and poor performance in that position, $10-15K a year is peanuts if you're talking the difference between a good administrator and one who's sort of semi-competent. It's one of those positions where if you can't get the quality you want for the price you want to pay, you might be better off upping the ante a bit. But if you prefer, you can save $1000-1500 a month and potentially end up with a bozo instead.

Is the salary too high? Maybe. I'm not familiar with the pay scale for city administrators, but the figure being offered doesn't sound totally outrageous for a professional position of that kind, even in a place like Lebanon. The average administrator salary at LHS is over $70K. Nobody seemed to blink at paying the prior administrator $80K, and from the various things I've seen reported in the LDR and in the auditor's report about the city management during his tenure, that was not money entirely well-spent. Can you expect that because you got a less-than-stellar administrator for $80K you can get a really good one for the same amount? Maybe, but maybe not. Let's not forget the city had an administrator lined up before, but he sandbagged his true salary demands until after they offered him the job, and they let him go. Now the current guy negotiated himself a somewhat better deal than was initially offered, too, but apparently it was something the city felt it could swallow.

So it's not entirely clear whether the frustration expressed on this thread is really "the price is too high," or instead just the old "I don't want to pay that much." Those aren't always the same thing.

If the new guy is the real deal--and I am certainly in no position to say one way or another whether he is--the extra boodle (and it's not really all that much, certainly not guaranteed) might be a good decision, even if it offends your sensibilities. Just because you think somebody really good "ought" to be willing to take the job for an amount of money you like doesn't make it so. Reality tends to be a bit recalcitrant that way.

[RIchard Bland]

Originally Posted by momathome

Competent is the real isue here. If he is and has a bach. degree in buisness and has at least 8 years of being a city administator , in a city of same size or larger and with the same budget as Lebanon . The average pay scale would be 59000 to 100000 per year. But this is based on the size of the city. Lebanon is not the smallest nor is it the largest . I would think that we would fall into the 65000 to 75000 area of that scale. If he has the qualifications. So yes if you look at that then you can say we are paying a premium for someone that has not held a city admin job in the same town for more than six years at a time , If he is all that great why only six years. hummmmm.
I got my information from a web site call rate you pay. It takes some time to get all of the informaion but it is there. While your at it look at some of the other jobs that the city has , anyone under managment is way underpaid for a city of this size in mo. Dont make much sence to me , But I guess I am not as smart as the Mayor. After all he works for the government and we know how intelagent they are.

Regarding the sentence I bolded above, the sad hard truth is that when it comes to payment, people don't get what they deserve or what they are worth--however you want to measure those. People get what they can get. If good people are willing to continue working in non-management positions for the city for relative peanuts, that's how it goes. The administrator candidates that Lebanon (or at least, the mayor and council) want seem to be quite happy to walk away if their salary requirements aren't met.

As for six years in the same place, in some positions that isn't necessarily considered a recommendation. Depending on the field, if you're in the same job for much more than five years, prospective employers think there might be something wrong with you.

[Woody Cofield]

$100,000?

Oh me oh me oh my, after reading the article and seeing what the last CA was paid, I don't see a huge difference or much to whine about here.

Sorry for my lack of hate.

Thank you City Hall for hiring Mr. Luxem, I wish him the best, Woody Cofield.

[Bill Rook]

He was fired in Wisconsin and quit after 90 days in North Carolina. I hope his tour here is long and proves to be worth the expense.

[firefighter]

Originally Posted by Bill Rook

He was fired in Wisconsin and quit after 90 days in North Carolina. I hope his tour here is long and proves to be worth the expense.

Yeah, let's get the whole story out here.
Thanks Bill!