THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 3, 1994 TAG: 9407020153
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: On The Street
SOURCE: Bill Reed
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
A little old-fashioned candor never hurt anyone. Especially politicians.
As a group, they seem to avoid it at all costs. They apparently think Mary and Joe Lunch Pail don't have the good sense to figure out what they're up to.
Remember the handsome pay raises congressmen and women voted themselves several years ago? It happened with speed that would put Olympic sprinter Carl Lewis to shame. Remember the handsome health care package that came with it?
Few Americans could afford such a package, or even have access to it - and all of it will be paid for with their tax money.
The whole thing was decided in the back rooms of the Capitol, then rushed to a vote without significant public comment. The justification was that the cost of living in the Washington, D.C., area had far outstripped the going congressional salaries and perks at the time.
Meanwhile, the Lunch Pails made do with little or no raises, and sometimes with no job, because big business was cutting back on manpower to keep afloat in bad economic times.
A parallel event came to a head last week in Virginia Beach when the City Council tried to pull a fast one by giving salary increases to four appointed officials with very little notice.
It can't be said here that these folks don't deserve a pay raise. Like anybody else who puts in long hours and undergoes high stress in the performance of their job, they earn every nickel they make. But, the manner in which they were rewarded stinks.
A public notice in last Sunday's Beacon, part of the advertised City Council agenda for Tuesday, contained a cryptic phrase that explained nothing and meant nothing. It read: ``Ordinance re compensation for City Council appointees.''
What it really meant was four city officials were going to get a 3 percent pay hike and some added perks. All of it had been decided behind close doors - perfectly legal in Virginia. In this state, public officials can deliberate on personnel, real estate and legal matters in executive session. Make that the back room. Individual pay issues fall under one of those categories.
But, once the raises were decided, the council didn't have the guts to advertise it in the normal fashion or even explain its actions. Apparently, members were afraid of public repercussions, and rightly so.
John D. Moss was the only member of council to question the procedure aloud. Sure, he was part of the raise-giving process, and, sure, his protest could be construed as grandstanding, but he made a valid point.
``The issue is what harm would come to making public the details on compensation?'' he asked fellow council members Tuesday night. ``Process is something the government is all about - people have to have it to be meaningfully informed.''
Saying that, he opposed most of the pay provisions, but they were approved anyway by the council majority. So, come July 1:
City Manager James K. Spore will get a $3,487 raise, bringing his annual salary to $116,246. He'll also get a $6,000 a year car allowance; $7,500 deferred compensation; provisions for six months' severance pay; an annual physical examination; and memberships in organizations such as the International City Managers Association.
City Attorney Leslie L. Lilley will get a $2,550 raise that boosts his annual salary to $87,550. He'll also get a $350 a month car allowance, three months' severance pay, an annual physical and memberships paid.
Real Estate Assessor Jerald Banagan gets a $1,845 a year raise, which will give him a yearly salary of $61,484. He gets no car allowance, but he does get three months' severance pay, an annual checkup and memberships paid for by the city.
City Clerk Ruth Hodges Smith will get a $1,566 hike, boosting her yearly salary to $52,209. She receives no car allowance, but she does get reimbursed for professional memberships and an annual checkup.
The increases are not out of line with those in neighboring cities, according to Vice Mayor William D. Sessoms. ``You'll find that we're right in the middle of them,'' he said.
Once the votes were in, Mayor Meyera Oberndorf assured everyone that the pay hikes were approved ``in all honesty.''
``Procedures were followed and evaluations done properly,'' she said. by CNB