I need to move to the suburbs to make more money then the Governor of PA and Mayor of Philly!

[mixiboi]

Just like this man:

In Lower Merion, a dispute over town manager's pay comes to a head this week

Republican Commissioner Jenny Brown, and several others on the township board, say a $275,000 pay package for Township Manager Douglas Cleland is "excessive."

Brown has been e-mailing residents to urge them to "make your concerns heard" on Wednesday when the board is scheduled to vote on a new contract for Cleland that would bump his pay over time but keep it flat in 2012.

Others on the Democratically controlled board counter that Cleland, manager since 2002 and a 28-year township employee, has saved the township hundreds of thousands of dollars with efficiencies, has protected and capitalized on a stellar AAA credit rating, and has negotiated fiscally sound contracts with employee unions.

Cleland, who has been working without a contract since December, has a base salary of $202,989 a year. Benefits bring his total compensation to $275,000, commissioners said.

He is among the best-paid municipal administrators in the region and, as Brown likes to point out, takes home more than the Pennsylvania governor or Philadelphia mayor.

"It's just excessive," Brown said in an interview Sunday.

[NickleDimer]

A high performing leader, loyal to the company for 28 years, manages over 700 employees. I would say not excessive.

If only the city had responsible financial leaders like this guy...

[mixiboi]

If only everything was as tiny as this place he runs.....

[LUCas]

If only everything was as tiny as this place he runs.....

It's equal in population and 10 times the land mass as Center City.

[Tartan69]

It's equal in population and 10 times the land mass as Center City.

Which makes it an apples-to-oranges comparison. That said, I don't have issue with that level of pay for that role in that particular township. Then again I don't live there and pay their taxes...

[NickleDimer]

It's not apples to oranges. It's a small apple to a large (rotten) apple.

[Naveen]

Wow, that's too much money for that job.

[JoeBaker]

Wow, that's too much money for that job.

That's what I say everytime I hear what a teacher makes.

[Tartan69]

That's what I say everytime I hear what a teacher makes.

Teachers as a whole are indeed overpaid. In fact, some teachers are glorified babysitters. However I would argue that the devil is in the details based on subject taught and level:

High-level math and science teachers are underpaid due to their in-demand skill sets. High-level English (and some History) teachers are underpaid due to their workload, as grading essays is much harder and more time-consuming than grading other types of tests.

[Litter Box]

Teaching was always a job I did not want. If you want to get on the gravy train no one is stopping you.

[darthsinatra]

Shouldn't the man's pay be commensurate with his results and the good he has done for the township? Is he supposed to keep the township fiscally solvent with the highest credit rating possible out of the goodness of his heart? Who are any of us to say what this man should be paid and what he shouldn't? If you want to get upset about pay vs responsibility, look no further than our beloved professional athletes, whose arenas are often taxpayer funded and whose salaries are so astronomical as to be comical. A person managing 700 employees and an enormous budget as well as dealing with unions, in the private sector, would be paid as much or more as this man, and probably couldn't keep it up for 28 years. The republican opponent who says his pay is "excessive" says that because she probably has no idea how the man does what he does and most likely couldn't do the job if you paid her double his salary.

[StatesRights]

LOL-- No need to move to the suburbs to find over-the-top salaries! Plenty of examples (in the Public Sector) of folks in the city who earn/have earned lots more than the Governor or the Mayor... Need we go through that list again???
NOT saying thats right, btw...

[Tartan69]

Teaching was always a job I did not want. If you want to get on the gravy train no one is stopping you.

I don't follow your logic here...I don't want to be a teacher either. I'm simply pointing out that due to the law of supply and demand, in order to get a quality candidate for certain job roles you need to pay a commensurate amount of money. Since Gym teachers require no specialized skills and are a dime a dozen, you should pay them less than a Calculus teacher since they are harder to find and someone with those skills has more options in the workforce.

I bring this up because the same logic goes for township managers -- if you can find good ones for cheap that have the abilities that you need, then that's one thing. But I highly doubt you can find one with the experience required for a township and staff of that size for a cut-rate salary.

[Litter Box]

I don't follow your logic here...I don't want to be a teacher either. I'm simply pointing out that due to the law of supply and demand, in order to get a quality candidate for certain job roles you need to pay a commensurate amount of money. Since Gym teachers require no specialized skills and are a dime a dozen, you should pay them less than a Calculus teacher since they are harder to find and someone with those skills has more options in the workforce.

I bring this up because the same logic goes for township managers -- if you can find good ones for cheap that have the abilities that you need, then that's one thing. But I highly doubt you can find one with the experience required for a township and staff of that size for a cut-rate salary.

It comes across that some people are jealous of what teachers make, if that is so become a teacher. I also would not want to be a cop, an inner city bus driver and a few other things. I had a friend years ago who taught at Cato in West Philadelphia, He was fresh back from Nam and needed a job but didn't stay long when other jobs became available. In the past I think I read that people would apply for a city teaching job as a back up in case they couldn't line up a better job in the burbs.

[Tartan69]

It comes across that some people are jealous of what teachers make, if that is so become a teacher. I also would not want to be a cop, an inner city bus driver and a few other things.

Ah I see what you mean now. And yes I fully agree on the jealousy angle. I think however there is another completely different angle -- the one of the taxpayer. IMO it is valid to question how your tax dollars are being spent, particularly when there are bad teachers or dime-a-dozen teachers being paid more than what they are worth.

[Litter Box]

Ah I see what you mean now. And yes I fully agree on the jealousy angle. I think however there is another completely different angle -- the one of the taxpayer. IMO it is valid to question how your tax dollars are being spent, particularly when there are bad teachers or dime-a-dozen teachers being paid more than what they are worth.

This can be a double edged sword. A teacher should be paid enough so they will not be tempted to leave for a job in the burbs because I am pretty sure a teacher with experience is better than one with no experience. Some sort a review should be in effect that will get rid of teachers who are just going through the motions.

[ArcticSplash]

I wonder why there wasn't much outrage when people found out what Carl Greene made, but then when everyone found out he liked to harass female subordinates, the Man with the Loud Suits was suddenly a problem.

Oh that's right it was also because he was a colossal national embarrassment in an election season and we had to get rid of him before it blows up into daily fodder for the Drudge Report. Not something HUD wanted to deal with when in budget talks with Congress.

We as a socierty seem to whine but tolerate profligate salaries. Same with Queen Arlene. Same with CEOs. I've dumped shares but my puny 100-1000 lot of shares means nothing compared to institutionals who sit idly by and let highly-paid incompetence rule.


I think the last time there was a visceral reaction was when we had PACleanSweep, to get rid of the PA pols who voted themselves a pay raise in the middle of the night.