people that truly want to be mayor to make newburyport better will apply despite the salary, those that want the job as a career move would want the raise the salary. its about civic duty, not making it a career...
My response: Nonsense.
Forgive my bluntness, but this just doesn't make sense.
Here's how I see it. As every likes to point out when it suits them, the mayor works for us. We're his boss, and I think we should try to be the best bosses we can be.
How? Well, we could let him or her wear Hawaiian shirts on Fridays. Or another thing is to ensure the mayor is in position to succeed as the manager of the city.
I had a conversation recently with a company executive who put his management style rather succinctly. He wants to be sure his employees enjoy three things: a love for the job; the tools necessary to get the job done and a sense that they are fairly compensated.
That's a fairly good summation of a good working environment, and it's something the mayor's position doesn't offer. If it did we wouldn't be looking at two-plus decades (or more) of one or two-term mayors. (Mayor Moak was the first mayor to get re-elected in 10 years.
Let's address all three.
LOVE FOR THE JOB: By default, the mayor must have a love for the job and a sense of purpose. Why else put yourself through a campaign. CHECK.
THE TOOLS: I'm sure the mayor has all the computers and equipment necessary to get the work done. But the real tool that's missing is a position of strength. The current two-year term makes real change nearly impossible. A reluctant department head merely needs to wait out the mayor, at least until one election cycle. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the mayor achieved any level of reform (health plans, pay raises, regionalization) until his second-term. Either people felt more comfortable working with him OR they realized he wasn't going to go away.
Or so they thought.
COMPENSATION: I recognize the appeal of the citizen-soldier politician. The community-minded individual who puts the city before self. But I think that's short-term.
As the Mayor said in the Daily News article, he came in to stop the bleeding. He feels he did that, now it's time to move on. Why? Because the luster of serving community wears off after a while, at least in most people, leaving people to ask simply, Am I doing what's best for me and my family.
No one should get rich being Mayor, but I want the person working for me to feel they're getting a good wage for a good day's work. Otherwise, they begin to feel like they're doing me a favor by sacrificing for their community.
I don't want favors. I want a good employee.
1 comment:
I totally agree with you, Tom. There's civic duty and there's reality check.
And I don't agree with the people who are pooh-poohing his comments about extra events a mayor has to attend and/or contribute to.
I may not always agree with him, but I can't say the man doesn't work his butt off on behalf of this city - and all for the same salary I made as an administrative assistant in Boston, five years ago.
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