Tag Archives: salaries

Township ripe for waste cutting

For those of you who don’t know, there’s another local government entity besides the City and the County. It’s called the Township. Peoria County is divided into twenty townships (see map here), and these townships collect property taxes and provide a few services. You can read an excellent history about them in a report titled, “Township Government: Essential or Expendable? The Case of Illinois and Cook County,” by David K. Hamilton.

One of the services provided is something called “General Assistance.” According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, “The General Assistance (GA) program provides people with money and limited medical care to help take care of themselves when they do not qualify for other cash programs administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS).” Recipients of this aid can receive bus tickets; vouchers to help pay for utilities, prescriptions, dental and eye exams; and money for other medical needs. The General Assistance Fund also grants $50,000 per year to the Heartland Clinic and $10,000 per year to the Center for Abuse. All told, the General Assistance budget is $1.525 million.

Of that budget, $242,600 goes to administration. The head of the operation is the Town General Assistance Supervisor, an elected position carrying a salary of $80,796.71 per year. A salary schedule approved in 2008 shows that next year it goes up to $84,836.55. And starting in May 2012, it goes up to $89,078.38. In other words, it goes up 5% every year. At that rate, the position will rake in over $100,000 a year in taxpayer money by 2015.

And what does the Town General Assistance Supervisor do? Distribute taxpayer money. Hand out vouchers and other assistance to people who line up at the door.

So, what’s my beef here? First of all, the salary for this position — which is essentially a clerical position — is outrageous. There is no justification for it as it stands. Secondly, there’s no justification for annual 5% increases on top of it. Thirdly, why do we have this position at all? In southern Illinois they don’t even have a township government system and this function is fulfilled by the County. From an administrative standpoint, without passing judgment on the services provided, this is serious government waste.

There is a provision in state law for abolishing township government. However, it’s practically impossible to achieve. To force the question to a referendum, you have to gather signatures of 10% of the voters in each of the 20 townships. That would be a mammoth effort. And you can’t just get rid of one township — it’s all or nothing in the County. The only practical way to abolish townships is for State legislation to be passed that would do away with the antiquated and duplicatory system.

Les sees 60% raise over two years

I heard about this Bradley Scout article from Mazr via Billy’s blog. The article is mainly about how Joanne Glasser is one of the highest-paid college presidents in Illinois, but both Mazr and Billy picked up on Bradley Basketball coach Jim Les’s jaw-dropping salary of $419,414 (including benefits) for the 2007-08 school year. That’s just $1,586 shy of the college president’s salary.

What really floored me, though, was this: “Two years earlier, Les earned $262,905.” That means Les’s salary increased $156,509, or nearly 60%, in just two years. This raise coincides with Bradley’s NCAA appearance in 2006, when they made it to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1955. I presume the NCAA berth and his salary bump are connected.

It sounds like a lot of money to me, and I find it strange that the basketball coach would be on equal salary terms with the college president. It gives the impression that athletics and academics are of equal value. However, Les’s salary was actually quite low compared to other NCAA Division I coaches, according to this USA Today report from 2006. Before his salary bump, Les was one of the 20 lowest-paid coaches. At that time, 17 coaches made over $1 million, and 33 made over a half million.

I can’t find a recent salary comparison, but I would assume Les is making a respectable average salary among coaches in his division now. Is he worth it? I’ll let those who follow basketball more than I answer that question.

State law prohibits council from taking cut in pay

Last November, the City Council approved raising their salaries from $12,000 to $14,000 per year. This year, they wanted to see if they could lower their salary to help show solidarity with the city staff members who may be asked to forgo raises (or some other kind of salary concession) in order to help plug the city’s projected $10 million deficit.

But wouldn’t you know? State law prohibits it. “There is absolutely no action which the Council can take to achieve any change in the salaries of elected officials,” says the communication from Interim City Manager Henry Holling. At least, not until after the next election.

It’s funny how state law works. Sometimes, as in this case, it’s presented as immutable. Other times, it’s not so big of a hurdle — like when the City wants to change the rules as to who can serve on the council, or when the school district wants access to Public Building Commission bonding power so they can circumvent the voters. It’s mesmerizing how fast state law can be changed in certain circumstances, but not in others.