MY OPINION - THE BUDGET AND LIBRARY SALARIES

Opposing funding for library operations is likely a losing proposition in the world of politics. It usually translates into a vote-losing proposition, but, in the proposed 2010 city budget, I have taken issue with the Ripon Public Library's proposed wage increases. Let me stress that I am a supporter of the library. I made a donation to the expansion earlier this decade, and my childre, my wife, and I frequent the library several times a month. The arguments I am making today are directed at the pay system and not at any individuals.

The employees will receive a 2.75 percent increase, which the amount the city agreed to pay under its most-recent contract with union employees. The city traditionally extends the same pay raise to non-union employees. What has made me upset is the step increases of up to five percent on top of the proposed base pay increases. For some library employees, this means a 7.75 percent increase.

I will argue that a 7.75 percent increase, in today's economic climate and with many city residents seeing their pay stay the same or decline, is simply wrong. We learned this week that senior citizens will be receiving a ZERO increase in their monthly checks. I think this makes the salary schedule at the library an even more painful pill to swallow.

The step system, which was approved over two decades ago to bring Ripon into line with the salaries of comparable libraries and reward seniority, is obsolete. If Ripon has not caught up to the salaries of comparable libraries, then the system apparently has not worked. To give someone a five percent increase after five years on the job is a prime example of why people look at government with a suspicious eye. I also have a problem with simply looking at salaries between comparable libraries and making compensation decisions without looking at the corresponding benefit packages and the cost of living in the cities being compared. Lastly, if a libary in another community is paying more, there is nothing to prevent our employees from seeking a job at the facility if pay is the primary driver behind their career choices.

Under state law, the city of Ripon can not determine how library funds are spent; we can only set what contribution we will make with tax dollars to the revenue stream. In 2010, the city will pass the $400,000 mark in the amount of tax dollars going to the city, and the amount has jumped $25,000 in the past three budgets.

I am strongly encouraging the library board to review and revise the current salary structure. There was a motion at the last council meeting to cut the city's tax contribution by one percent, which failed 6-2. I would NOT have supported the motion, since I would like this dicussion on the library's salaries to be constructive and not adversarial. Let's give the board, which is appointed by the mayor and approved by the council, the opportunity to address the issue in the next year.