Daryl Jones, John Rose Jr.
Mayor Toni Harp gave raises to top non-union managers and confidential employees, in some cases their first raises in four years. The move prompted outraged alders to launch an investigation.
She gave the raises to 37 out of 48 city government “executive management and confidential” employees, meaning top aides not covered by a union contract.
The raises, which took effect this week, are controversial for two reasons. First, an 11 percent tax increase takes effect with the new city budget July 1. Second, as part of that budget process, the Board of Alders voted to require the Harp administration to come before it prior to approving any raises for executive management and confidential employees.
The administration argues that it doesn’t legally have to do that as long as raises stay within salary ranges the alders have already approved for those positions.
Alders argue that the charter allows department heads to move around $5,000 in their budgets without legislative approval, but that Section 2 – 386 says aldermanic approval is needed for any budget transfer to “increase the total annual salary estimate included in an appropriation for any reason.”
Update: After this article appeared, the Board of Alders leadership released a statement announcing it will launch a “formal investigation” into these raises and take action “based on our findings.” The release argued that the raises“should have been communicated to the Board of Alders, the budgetary authority of the city, pursuant to the Charter and the Code of Ordinances.”
Following 3144
The city’s practice had been in the past to raise the salaries of the 48 city employees in conjunction with raises granted to members of AFSCME Local 3144, which represents management and professional workers. But Mayor Harp had not granted raises to many of the group’s salaries in years, in some cases since she took office in 2014. Her controller, Daryl Jones, for instance, hadn’t received a raise until this week, when his annual pay rose 10.49 percent to $129,000. Meanwhile, the employees have paid an increasing share of medical and pension benefits.
Twenty-one of the 37 employees received 7.5 percent raises. Corporation Counsel John Rose, Jr., for instance, saw his pay rise by that much, as did City Engineer Giovanni Zinn and public works chief Jeff Pescosolido.
Other hikes varied based on how recently people had received raises. Youth services chief Jason Bartlett, who did receive a raise three years ago, got a 5 percent hike this week.
Officials for the police and fire unions criticized the raises at a pension fund meeting Friday morning, questioning how the city could raise managers’ salaries while thrifting on overdue contributions to their retirement funds.
Harp noted that the increases match what’s in the new contract for AFSCME Local 3144.
“It’s been four and a half years since they got a raise,” she explained. “Look, some of them will be making less than” the employees they supervise in Local 3144.
She added that she won’t be included in those bureaucrats getting bigger checks. “I got a raise earlier,” she noted.
Patrick Cannon, a trustee for the public safety pension who represents firefighters, questioned how the city could increase these salaries during a budget crisis.
“We say we’re putting stop-gaps in place, yet we’re giving raises later this afternoon,” he said. “At least, remove [Jones] as a [pension] trustee and possibly as a controller, because he can’t do his job.”