The justification of bond packages (increased taxes)

[cArAzzIE]

Top Richardson staffers paid more than $500,000 for unused time off
12:00 AM CDT on Monday, April 26, 2010
By IAN McCANN / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]

Richardson's top brass cashed in more than $500,000 in accrued sick and vacation time over the past three years of tight budgets and pay and hiring freezes.
Most, about $380,000, went to City Manager Bill Keffler, whose 2007 contract amendment lets him sell sick time as he chooses.
Mayor Gary Slagel defended the sick leave buyback, structured as a retention bonus. The council at the time approved it unanimously.
"It was a significant bonus, and we all felt it was the right thing to do," Slagel said. "We knew he was being approached by other organizations, and he still is. I don't regret it."
The perk sets Keffler apart from many of his peers – even Irving's Tommy Gonzalez, one of Texas' highest-compensated city managers.
Richardson Deputy City Manager Dan Johnson has cashed in about $126,000 in sick and vacation time. And assistant city managers and department heads are allowed to sell vacation time each December. Keffler defended the policies as a way to retain experienced senior staff members.
"All of our employees get offers all the time, and that is why we have to pay attention to the pay and benefit levels," he said.
Most cities allow employees to accrue large amounts of sick time, sometimes unlimited, and months' worth of vacation time. But only a few allow workers to cash the time in before retirement.
Some are scaling their leave programs back as a way to limit future budget liabilities.
Plano recently imposed a 12-week vacation accrual cap. It limits vacation buyback to 40 hours per year, which cost the city about $463,000 last year. The city's top executives accounted for just $6,455 of that. Sick-time buyback, paid into retirement accounts, cost Plano about $300,000 this year.
LaShon Ross, a Plano assistant city manager, said the city tightened its accrual rules to reduce long-term budget liability in the face of dire long-term budget forecasts.
Dallas' personnel rules prohibit selling vacation time, though exceptions may be granted.
Richardson employees can accrue up to four weeks of vacation and unlimited sick time. When they leave employment, vacation payout depends upon length of service, while sick-time pay is limited to 18 weeks. That policy also applies to Keffler.
"My alternative would have been to leave, and I've got that payout coming anyway," Keffler said. "Is it reasonable for me to put my family's best interests aside and say 'Thank you but no thank you' and put that benefit aside?"
After cashing in nearly 75 weeks of sick time and more than 10 weeks of vacation, Keffler today carries about three weeks of sick leave and 27 hours of vacation.
The bulk of Keffler's sick-time payment, nearly $255,000, came in 2007. Council member John Murphy described the employment agreement signed that March as "golden handcuffs" to keep Keffler on as city manager.
Keffler can cash in as much accrued sick time as he wants as long as he remains city manager through March 2012. Murphy said he believes allowing Keffler to more than double his salary in 2007 was a worthy expenditure for taxpayers.
"Those are expenses that are fully justified if the city is well run and the needs are being met," Murphy said. "Most of the businesses we have now wouldn't be there today if it were not for Bill Keffler."
Irving City Council members made a similar argument last year when they altered Gonzalez's contract. The council gave him a $150,000 loan and a $41,000 annual housing assistance grant for five years and let him cash in up to two weeks of vacation a year. City records show he did so in October, for a pre-tax payment of about $10,500.
Gonzalez, like all Irving employees, also is paid a bonus each year for unused sick time. Every November, employees are paid 25 percent of the value of sick time they accrued but did not use the previous year. For each of the past three years, about 1,000 employees have qualified, costing taxpayers more than $560,000 a year.
Generous benefit policies have long been used to keep people working in the public sector.
"You may not get the same rate of salary, but there's the stability and the benefits," said Ross, the Plano assistant city manager. "That's been the accepted rationale."
Or, as Keffler said: "What is a city manager worth? I'm responsible for an organization of 1,000 employees and a budget of $175 million. The council makes a value judgment they think is responsible."

[cArAzzIE]

From the comments section:

1:16 PM on April 27, 2010

In reading the words spoken by the city manager and the one city councilman, thoughts of elitism, kleptocracy, dilusions of grandeur, and a peverse sense of entitlement come to mind.

What is not pointed out in the article is that the top four managers raked in 3.7MM from the city in salaries, vacation and sick pay cash outs, and other cash-equivalent perks, along with apparently some unauthorized disbursements - go to this website for the details: http://dc-tm.blogspot.com/.

Using Keffler's flawed logic which would apply if this was the private sector where he justifies his salary based upon managing 1,000 employees and overseeing a budget of 176MM, that would mean that the city managers of Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio should be making 1-2MM a piece. Prior analysis found that each Richardson resident was paying $3.30 to line his pocket vs. comparable per capita figures to fund other city managers of $2.04 in Irving, $.25 in Dallas, $.22 in San Antonio, $.08 in Houston, $1.22 in Plano, $.37 in Austin, $.41 in Ft. Worth, and $$.64 in Arlington to name a few.

While the majority of people are struggling to get by, keep their homes, put food on their tables, and purchase desperately needed and costly medicine, more taxes are being proposed to rob from the poor and give to the rich. It is time for Robin Hood to turn the tables and put an end on this euphemistic Sheriff of Nottingham from feasting on the king's publicly-financed private game reserve.

[Titus]

I can't say I am that upset by this. The fact is, City manager is a highly skilled position with a very small pool of qualified people that can be effective at it. Not only do they have to manage hundreds of people, they must also deal with the daily political BS from the elected officials they take orders from. Replacing one that leaves can be very disruptive and costly.

When It comes to cities like Richardson and Irving, filling the job is particularly difficult. They are very large and complex cities with crime and poverty issues and decreasing tax revenues. They don't offer the prestige of an internationally known city like Dallas, and don't offer the job growth of an up and coming city like Frisco.

Imagine for a moment that you are a highly sought after city manager considering a new job. You get similar offers from Dallas, Frisco, and Richardson. If you want prestige and envy from your peers, you go to work for Dallas. If you want to live in a great area with good schools for your kids and the chance to grow in your job as the city grows, you go to Frisco. So why would you choose to go to Richardson? Unless Richardson flashes a good deal more money in your face, you are not going to consider it, and they settle for a second tier manager that will likely not be as effective in managing the city.

[MiataMike]

I have to agree with Todd

If it was an issue the voters should petition to put it on the ballot and remove such things as an option.

I don't begrudge someone for taking a LEGAL payout that was offered to them as an added bonus for working in that position. If I was in his shoes I'd do the same thing. This is more about the media trying to demonize people in higher positions as being the bad guy, because its a popular thing to do.

[creek]

If my contract allowed me to cash in unused sick leave I would certainly do it. It is part of the compensation package agreed too between myself and my employer. An employee is much more effective in their job than using sick leave that can not be cashed in, which is exactly what would happen with the majority of public sector employees. The article is a non-issue in my book.

[sammm]

If my contract allowed me to cash in unused sick leave I would certainly do it.

+11111....I currently have over 578 hours of sick leave. Hopefully I'll never need it, but there it sits.

[SirHustlerEsq]

While the majority of people are struggling to get by, keep their homes, put food on their tables, and purchase desperately needed and costly medicine, more taxes are being proposed to rob from the poor and give to the rich. It is time for Robin Hood to turn the tables and put an end on this euphemistic Sheriff of Nottingham from feasting on the king's publicly-financed private game reserve.

lol @ commie wealth redistribution. Its a ton of cash, and obviously our tax money is going to salaries and not roads...but a contract is a contract and I respect these cities for sticking to their contracts.

It sucks for me because I'm managing $160m this year and proportionally, I'm underpaid considering this article.

[cArAzzIE]

Negotiating contracts is one thing...negotiating to line your pocket with tax dollars is another. Residents and employees of the city have very different perspectives. Let him go...he will leave eventually anyway, taking as many tax dollars as he can (or negotiate)...nobody is irreplaceable - it's arrogant to think you are.

[SirHustlerEsq]

How much is "enough"? Think about all the things a city has to deal with: sport events, community planning, zoning, hurricanes, tornados, fire, flooding, hail, wind, law enforcement, trash, water, electricity, the press...its an insanely high stress job where in a good year they only see a few dozen lawsuits. I work with hundreds of local governments and its evident who gets paid, and who doesn't. The city manager is an incredibly important position and cities should pay to get the best money can buy to compete with the benefits packages afforded in the private sector so they don't end up like Detroit or a multitude of other cities which failed over the last decade due to poor planning, management, or inability to recover from natural disaster.

[jeepinbanditrider]

lol @ commie wealth redistribution. Its a ton of cash, and obviously our tax money is going to salaries and not roads...but a contract is a contract and I respect these cities for sticking to their contracts.

It sucks for me because I'm managing $160m this year and proportionally, I'm underpaid considering this article.

I manage the assets of 14 aircraft costing 33 million dollars a piece. If it wasn't for living out in town I'd make less than 30grand a year. I'm not complaining cause I make what I think is DECENT money but it's not going to have me living in a mansion and driving a high end exotic.

[cArAzzIE]

Well, you tell me. Is $3,775,027.70 in salary & benefits over 3 years for 4 city employees enough? Not including the cars provided to the employees and their spouses - and the host of undocumented "benefits".

[Rebel]

Do you have proof they are providing a city car to the spouses?

Also any benefits will either be included in the standard benefits package, or in their contract, so I'm not sure what you consider to be "undocumented".

I'm with the others, In the council/manager form of governemnt the City Manager is the biggest key to a City's success or Failure, if the council thinks he is the bets person for the job you might want to sit down with some of them and find out why.

[SirHustlerEsq]

That's roughly $28k per employee in leave/trade in a 40-50% income tax rate. Where are these vehicles and undocumented benefits you've referenced? This article reeks of "wealth redistribution."