Government on the Cheap?

I ended up voting against increasing the council/mayor stipends last night not because I don't think an increase is needed, but because all signs are pointing toward a budget crisis. With the acting city manager acknowledging that departmental budget cuts are a probability, to me it just didn't make sense to vote the politicians a raise until we see just exactly what the budget numbers will look like. I moved to table the motion to increase until our budget hearings later in the year. The tabling motion failed. The motion to increase the stipend passed on a 4-3 vote (King, Esslinger, Palmeri voting no).

One thing bothering me about the stipend discussion over the last few weeks has been the impression left in the minds of people that somehow Oshkosh is getting government on the cheap because our $2,400 stipend is the lowest on the list provided by Burk Tower. I did some thinking about that list over the last couple of weeks, and as I pointed out last night, it's misleading because it does not include the cost of executive level leadership in each city.

Here's what I mean: as a result of the vote last night, Oshkosh in 2009 will expend $28,500 for councilor stipends ($3,750 for 6 councilors + $6,000 for the mayor). However, the new city manager will probably make $130,0000 per year. That makes Oshkosh's combined council/executive total $158,500.

Now compare that with the city of Menasha. They pay 8 councilors $5,190 + $5,490 for their council president (the equivalent of Oshkosh's elected mayor) for a total of $47,010. However, their chief executive, a full-time mayor, makes $64,000. That means Menasha's combined council/executive compensation is $111,000.

Or how about Lacrosse? They pay 17 councilors $2,400 with each allowed $1,500 for expenses. Let's assume all 17 take the entire $1,500. That adds up to $66,300 in council compensation. But the LaCrosse executive, also a full-time mayor, makes $70,000. That means LaCrosse's combined council/executive compensation is $136,300.

How about Neenah? They pay 8 councilors $3,600 + $3,650 for the council president for a total of $32,450. The chief executive (also a full-time mayor) makes $75,620. That means Neenah's combined council/executive compensation is $108,070.

Acting city manager John Fitzpatrick tried to argue that these comparisons are unfair because many full-time mayor cities also have full-time administrators and so they end up spending more than Oshkosh. Maybe true, but irrelevant; few of the cities on Mr. Tower's list have full-time administrators along with full-time mayors.

Here's something else the full-time mayor cities don't have:
*Payouts for a retiring city manager.
*Legal fees associated with the manager position.
*Executive search firm fees.
*Fees associated with interviewing manager candidates.
*Buyout provisions in the manager's contract.

Menasha just changed their executive level leadership for the first time in 20 years and the only cost was the cost of an election. No buy out, no legal fees, no search firms, no major hike in salary to attract good candidates. Only the cost of an election.

My point here is that while it is true that a stipend increase for the Oshkosh common council and mayor is warranted, it is not fair to even hint that we are somehow getting government on the cheap in comparison with other cities in the state. We aren't. When taking into consideration the combined compensation of the council/executive branches, and when looking at all of the costs associated with the manager position, we are actually spending more on government than most cities.