City of Longview's top salaries
Thursday, December 18, 2008 5:56 PM PST
By Amy M.E. Fischer
Printable version
E-mail this articleEditor’s note: The Daily News routinely reports salaries of the top-10 highest paid employees of the cities in our coverage area. Here are the top-10 Longview city salaries for the upcoming year, including amounts the officials made in 2008.
On Dec. 11, the City Council adopted a $212.7 million 2009-2010 budget. The city’s general fund budget for the next two years is $63.6 million.
Top City of Longview salaries
Name / position 2008 2009
Bob Gregory, city manager $140,904 $145,140
Alex Perez, police chief $103,080 $111,468
Dave Campbell, assistant city manager $103,068 $111,456
Jeff Cameron, public works director $103,080 $106,164
Daryl McDaniel, fire chief $103,080 $106,164
Marilyn Nitteberg-Haan, city attorney $98,172 $101,112
Kurt Sacha, finance director $97,572 $100,512
John Brickey, community development director $92,928 $95,724
Judy Jones, IT director $92,928 $95,724
Robbie Berg, human resources director $92,928 $95,724
pangborn wrote on Dec 18, 2008 5:48 AM:
" I see the cause of of Longview budget problems. Lets see the the rest of the office wage. If they all took a pay cut they wouldn't need to raise utility rates. "
bonziyance wrote on Dec 18, 2008 6:43 AM:
" Heres an Idea why don't you freeze the salaries of these people and use the moeny for the budget? "
speak into the microphone wrote on Dec 18, 2008 6:48 AM:
" Just keep it up with these B.S. wages and both of you (Longview Kelso)will see a revolution "
Resident wrote on Dec 18, 2008 8:22 AM:
" OK people this is not the time to increase salaries. Now is the time to thank god you have a job. Things would look much better if you would just take a small salary cut. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Dec 18, 2008 8:26 AM:
" Just goes to show that only fools do not go into govt. We are all fools for allowing this. Raises when there are budget problems, job cuts and less service. I have less a problem with with Perez than any of the rest. Are you telling me we can't get qualified people who will do this for less? Give me six months and I will have each position filled for at least $20,000 a year less if not more. These salaries should be permanently FROZEN and if the people leave, hire for less. Look we can get into the same mess we are in for a whole lot less. Seriously, we do need to take a very serious look at the salary structure in all levels of govt from the city to the county to the state. "
cynic954 wrote on Dec 18, 2008 8:29 AM:
" The rich get richer everybody else gets minimum wage, unemployment or welfare. "
Montana wrote on Dec 18, 2008 8:42 AM:
" The administration of Longview, Kelso, and the County should hang their heads in embarrassment and shame. I noticed, from earlier reports, that both the cities Chief of Police make more then the county Sheriff that seems odd. "
towboater wrote on Dec 18, 2008 9:05 AM:
" I dont dispute the wages, but,
every one of these Administrators risk a pay cut or demotion if Longview and Kelso Incorporated.
Ive lived here a long time and usually disinterested in the Political aspects, but Ive never understood the logic in having City Halls within stones throw of eachother. "
every one of these Administrators risk a pay cut or demotion if Longview and Kelso Incorporated.
Ive lived here a long time and usually disinterested in the Political aspects, but Ive never understood the logic in having City Halls within stones throw of eachother. "
SM wrote on Dec 18, 2008 9:07 AM:
" You get what you pay for, TDN BB. People don't go out and spend a boat-load of time and money on a college degree and then build up decades of experience so they can make less than a longshoreman. "
kitten wrote on Dec 18, 2008 9:07 AM:
" Oh come on people! These heads of our great city have worked hard to make Longview a thriving, beautiful, safe place to live. Oh, wait, hold-on, no they haven't! Longview just continues to sink deeper into being the armpit of Washington and the only ones that are taken care of are the walking dead (tweekers) and nutjobs. Maybe we should dock their pay instead of giving them raises. "
Regular Reader wrote on Dec 18, 2008 9:07 AM:
" These comments are as expected from the unwashed rabble. Bad Boy: $20K less for department directors? Why don't you check out the Washington Fire Chiefs, Police Chiefs, and Association of Washington Cities websites and see what competitive wages are for these positions? We're clearly getting a pretty good deal for our executives, and you get what you pay for. What do you think a private sector manager supervising 50-100 well paid employees gets? What do you think skilled trades (longshore, millwright, electricians, etc) earn--much less supervisory personnel? As I usually point out--go to school, don't do drugs, don't be a felon, and maybe you can apply for a good job and work your way up. I want professionals managing my tax-funded agencies, not yokels. Professionals cost money. Live with it. "
Mr. Bastinado wrote on Dec 18, 2008 9:07 AM:
" So that's why my property taxes get hiked EVERY FREAK'N YEAR even though valuations SHOULD BE DROPPING. Thank you for clearing that up for me. "
Mr. Bastinado wrote on Dec 18, 2008 9:11 AM:
" Economics firm Global Insight's new housing report says the Northwest is new home of overvalued housing. The housing slow down has shaken out overvalued real estate in the hardest hit regions of California, Florida and Arizona. That leaves Oregon and Washington among the most overvalued states. Global Insight's second quarter report affirms what the RMLS and Case-Shiller have been telling us: The Northwest was late to the housing slowdown but we're going to get hit just the same. The Northwest lights up in yellow and red in the Global Insight map of overvalued markets.
Bend ranks as the second-most overvalued market in the after Atlantic City. Longview, Wash., is third, Portland seventh, Eugene 10th, Salem 13th and Medford 14th. Oregon and Washington have half of the top 20 overvalued markets. "
Bend ranks as the second-most overvalued market in the after Atlantic City. Longview, Wash., is third, Portland seventh, Eugene 10th, Salem 13th and Medford 14th. Oregon and Washington have half of the top 20 overvalued markets. "
viper wrote on Dec 18, 2008 9:31 AM:
" keep in mind that some of these people have retired from other communities in Calif and are also drawing large pensions to go with these high salaries and plus these high raises to boot sure do look out for them selfs as I always said take care of number 1 as no one else is going to. and the (Government goes on fleecing the people as usual) Can't wait for the day they have to explain all of this, should be a good one to watch . they just want to make sure they get there pay raises in case the government freezes there wages can't blame them for that heck it could mean that they won't get another raise for 3 months what would they do ? or should they just raise some more rates and fees to compensate for it like usual gotta love it "
argoman wrote on Dec 18, 2008 9:40 AM:
" Regular reader you are dead wrong. We do have yokels managing OUR tax funded agencies. If they were doing a great job and not stealing, yes STEALING our hard earned money we would not be complaing would we. Only one who directly has hands in our coffers would make a comment like yours,,,, "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Dec 18, 2008 9:59 AM:
" RR, well I understand your arguement but it is your belief in status quo operations that prevents trying different approaches. All you have to do is re-establish the salaries and open the jobs. I have ever confidence we can find extremely qualified and educated people for less than we are paying these people. I have a big problem with people who always believe there is absolutely no other way to do govt job, no other people who are talented enough or qualified to do the job. There are talented people all over America making much less than this. But hey, RR, if the status quo works for you that's good. Look at the comments here and you can clearly see that for many the status quo does not work. Instead of defending the status quo why not be willing to see if there is a better way to do these jobs for a salary that the community understands and accepts. "
kelso gringo wrote on Dec 18, 2008 9:59 AM:
" These are all experienced, educated individuals in charge of important parts of the city. Why would these salaries surprise anyone? "
Gondolapete wrote on Dec 18, 2008 10:00 AM:
" Some of you sure are defensive of these high salaries....its a recession right now..you dont raise govt. wages during a recession... "
Im_not_saying wrote on Dec 18, 2008 10:14 AM:
" Hey Roudyruss - it's the same amount that Mr. Campbell received. To be fair - all the people on this list received raises. All are pretty much within the same percentage group and were probably written in as cost-of-living increases. It's not like these people are going around and begging for a raise, These "raises" were written in before the economy took a dump. To cancel these raises, regardless of how it looks, or how much they can afford can open the city up to lawsuits, costing much more than the raises. However - The people can elect to negate these raises as they see fit. That is up to the individual receiving the raise, and the city has no ability to retract items from a current contract without agreements from the persons involved. (and even then it can get hairy) "
SM wrote on Dec 18, 2008 11:19 AM:
" http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes111011.htm
The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the average CEO wage for Washington at a little over $150K a year. That puts Bob Gregory just under the average and hopefully puts all this into perspective. "
The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the average CEO wage for Washington at a little over $150K a year. That puts Bob Gregory just under the average and hopefully puts all this into perspective. "
amyk wrote on Dec 18, 2008 11:25 AM:
" Pfft, and I was thankful when my husband got a twenty-cent raise! Something is seriously wrong when the people can't pay their bills and get pay-cuts (if they get to keep their jobs at all) but the big guys can still get hefty raises like that. Funny how that works. Regular Reader, I don't care what competitive pay for these jobs is; lots of folks drank the kool-aid, but did that make 'em right? Majority isn't always right... "
Rural Citizen wrote on Dec 18, 2008 11:39 AM:
" So their average wage is 7 times higher than the citizens they "serve".
No wonder everyone wants to be a politician.
By the way, why are the wages for the WOMEN on this list so much LOWER than the men?
Couple that fact with the fact that there are just two or 3 token women, you get my drift. "
No wonder everyone wants to be a politician.
By the way, why are the wages for the WOMEN on this list so much LOWER than the men?
Couple that fact with the fact that there are just two or 3 token women, you get my drift. "
bucketball wrote on Dec 18, 2008 11:57 AM:
" Are you joking me TDN Bad Boy? You think your gonna find educated people that will work for less than $20,000 a year? If your really a business owner like you say you are in other topics I would almost bet most of your employees are illegal even though I'm sure you'll deny it. What are we supposed to think since everyone but you needs a pay cut. "
mole wrote on Dec 18, 2008 11:58 AM:
" SM: what does a longshoremans earnings have to do with this??? "
Kalama Dude wrote on Dec 18, 2008 12:03 PM:
" Correct us if we are wrong BB but don't you only care about what happens in Longview? So given that and that goes with it, why are you personally doing something about this? Going to meetings is doing next to nothing, it will only get truly better if YOU and YOU only apparently get directly involved. No worries or secrets seriously, if you run for the counsel or something more, but you can't honestly be happy only typing words into this page when you know your gifts could make a real difference where the rubber hits the road. OK don't worry about Kalama or the county in general here in your beloved Longview is where you can be the guiding light or 1000 points of light whichever motto or theme you want to adopt for your campaign. Have a heart and act not just complain and file for office, put your feet on the street and make the good times roll once again. You may say you are too busy running your business to have time for this foolishness, but honestly the time is now and the crisis is clearly very real. Your Longview Patriotic duty almost requires you take one for this team. Please don't make excuses or let these requests go to your head. Make the right choice right now and help ensure your children and their children have a better tomorrow, otherwise we all will be to blame. Thank you in advance. "
bucketball wrote on Dec 18, 2008 12:11 PM:
" I wonder what John Bean our Traffic Control Engineer got for a raise? "
bmoc wrote on Dec 18, 2008 12:16 PM:
" How about this: All of you complainers go out and get the education and experience that these individuals have, and then maybe you can come out from behind the fast food counter. Until then, be happy YOU have a job. It's not easy to find educated and qualified people in this dumpy ass town. I only stay here because my wife won't let me leave and I have a decent job :) "
old bag wrote on Dec 18, 2008 12:25 PM:
" What I think what is sad is that they don't care what the public thinks. They expect this type of response. They just ban together and go on. You never see any of them trying to explain why they didn't turn down the raise or why they deserve it! We can't do one thing to stop it. Vote them out and then the next committee gives their replacments the same money. "
mole wrote on Dec 18, 2008 12:31 PM:
" figure out the hourly wage increases,got mad and stopped!!!PEREZ 4 DOLLAR AN HOUR RAISE THE MOST!! cameron and mcdaniel who earned the same in 2008.Got 1.54 an hour more some 2.11 to 1.39 an hour raise!!! THAT'S FAIR WHEN EVERYONE ELSE HAS TO GO ON STRIKE TO GET A NICKEL AN HOUR RAISE!!!! WE WOULD NOT NEED UNIONS IF WE COULD "SET" OUR OWN RAISES !!!!!!AND HEALTH INSURANCE "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Dec 18, 2008 12:34 PM:
" Bucketball, if I ran my business like the leaders in this city, county and state run their budgets, I would be filing for bankruptcy and going out of business. It is very easy for you to sit back and make unsubstansiated charges about my employees. I would dignify your stupidity with any more of an answer. But if you see from the majority of comments in here, you are in the minority on this one. I'm not the only one against these types of salaries. These are clearly out of line for our community. "
mole wrote on Dec 18, 2008 12:43 PM:
" RR;I hope you weren't infereing, millwrights,electricians and longshoreman don't have enough "edjumacation" to have a decent wage!!! "ARE YOU CRAZY", whats the matter with you people?? BUCKETBALL:tdnbadboy,"said" 20,000 less,than what they are getting,not just 20,000 or less. "
Tingo wrote on Dec 18, 2008 1:57 PM:
" I've been following these blogs for awhile now, and it seems to me that there are a lot of dang whiners on here. And illiterate ones at that. If you want a decent job that pays well, offers raises and good benefits, get an education and put in the time or quit knocking the people who have. "
flatbakman wrote on Dec 18, 2008 2:12 PM:
" Has anybody here heard of Vallejo California? They used the same arguments ("highly qualified people, comparable salary in other cities, etc.) as the County, City and Pud are using. You know what happened to the city of Vallejo? They ended up declaring Bankruptcy. How long before Longview, Kelso or Cowlitz County jump on to that bandwagon? "
bmoc wrote on Dec 18, 2008 3:15 PM:
" Okay, you all win - let's hire some people on work release to run the city for minimum wage. You people are not bright. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Dec 18, 2008 4:11 PM:
" Leave it to a Liberal like BMOC to make a mockery of good ideas. Nobody said to hire the dimmest bulb in the group. But we don't need the most expensive either or even average. Let's face it, with 10 percent unemployment our county is one of the worst in the state. Longview, dare I say, is below average too. So why are we paying salaries at average or above per capita? How much sense does that make? That's about as intelligent as Liberal saying "OK, you win, let's hire people on work release." What a bright bulb that one is. The fact Liberals have been in control here so long that if anyone offers any kind of an idea that will shake the status quo they stammer about, yell and scream, and pout that the world is going to end. It's not going to end with the status quo and it's not going to end with a new approach. The difference between the two is that the status quo is what got us here. If you are satisfied with that, OK. I am not. And I think there are more and more people that are not satisfied with the status quo way of doing it. More and more Democrats are getting fed up this, too. "
rocketdad wrote on Dec 18, 2008 5:00 PM:
" To all of you who think a $20,000 a year pay cut is appropriate, let me ask you...would you be willing to take a 25% pay cut? Do you think that is fair to ask? even people on social security and disability are getting a 5.6% RAISE this year. SO according to your thinking, we should give all the persons on SSI and Disability a raise, yet cut the pay of the persons we task with running the city and the county. Ya, that makes sense..Like others have said, "you get what you pay for". Instead of complaining about the wages that we are paying our city leaders, why dont you attend a budget meeting, or a workshop, or get on a committee and offer some sage advise on how to bring more jobs to the county.
Bring something to the table or feel free to sit at another table... "
Bring something to the table or feel free to sit at another table... "
common sense wrote on Dec 18, 2008 5:17 PM:
" TDN Bad Boy: You make some good points but I think you're misdirected in a few. We must ask ourselves "what brings educated, innovative, and tolerant people to a community that rebukes government, has huge economic and social issues, as well as tough times ahead?" How do we attract great minds to a community that is sliding south due in part because of the negativity and lack of support? These people that run our local government aren't in it for the money. If you look at their job description, you'll find they much up well to every top executive management level position in fortune 500 companies. The private sector folks get paid much more. Where you and others should focus discontent is in forming a solution. Loosening $60,000 by not giving these people a raise will not do anything to fix any problems. I challenge you to do something other than sling negativety and resentment to the very folks that do their jobs in order for you and others to have a better tomorrow. When all else fails quit pointing fingers and start using:
~Common Sense "
~Common Sense "
bmoc wrote on Dec 18, 2008 5:19 PM:
" Here is why your idea is not bright Mr. Bad Boy - Let's say we hire a whole new group of folks with less experience for 20,000 less than our current administrators are making. So we've got this whole new batch of folks who work for Longview for maybe five years, while we are paying for their on the job training and growing pains, and all the problems that brings. At the end of that five years, we'd see at least half of them use our paid training to find jobs elsewhere where they get paid the going rate. See what I'm saying. These people have families and have worked hard to get where they are, so they are not going to pass up the opportunity to better their future. Neither would a bunch of less qualified people, once we gave them paid training. Your idea just doesn't make good sense in either the public or private sector, and is therefore not "bright"! By the way, I am not a liberal - never voted democrat in my life until this past election :) "
frodog wrote on Dec 18, 2008 6:39 PM:
" lets see between just 10 people in the city they gave them selves $145,528 worth of raises that doesnt even account for all of the other people that got raises i have had 1 raise of 50 cents an hour since the 9-11 event but every theing else has gone up
how about a little blue collar bale out "
how about a little blue collar bale out "
All about the Hamiltons wrote on Dec 18, 2008 6:48 PM:
" BMOC is right - you have to be competitive. If not, they'll be shopping around for the same position in a similarly sized city for 2k per year more. OR they take their 5 years experience and bail for the private sector. It's the same in public scxhool administration. You can't think that since the median wage in the area is X amount that you should only have to pay city administrators X amount. Furhtermore, you really need the consistency of having some of the same minds around to learn from the past - both good and bad.
Nice read. "
Nice read. "
jensdad wrote on Dec 18, 2008 6:56 PM:
" To me it doesn't matter if u are a Liberal or Conservative. When a community is bled dry it is still dead. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Dec 18, 2008 8:18 PM:
" BMOC, if you don't think Longview can attract well-educated, even experienced people in all of these positions for $20,000 a year you are wrong. I believe we can. Unlike you, I don't these people are doing a great job. In fact I would struggle to give most of them an average rating. But that's just my opinion. So you don't think we can get better people. Hell, I'll bet there are people in their own departments making that right now who could do a better job than the people above them and would jump at the opportunity for $20,000 less than these people are making. You guys want to pay competitive salaries to these people. Why? If I couldn't hire better people than these, I would jump off the bridge. For $85,000, I'll bet I can go to California and find a lot of better people looking for just this type of opportunity. Can't find better than this? Are you kidding me? Really? Do you really think this group is so good? I don't and I see what most of them do on a daily basis. I watch them and listen to them a lot more than many of you do. And believe, I am not impressed. Not for this kind of money. "
pangborn wrote on Dec 18, 2008 11:30 PM:
" There is no justification. No need to try to justify the high pay. "
bmoc wrote on Dec 18, 2008 11:50 PM:
" Sorry, I don't know if Robbie is a man or a woman. Whoever Robbie is, they are hiring and training a lot of great employees and they probably deserve much more than a $2800 raise - that's nothing. Well it's like 2 months pay working at Bad Boy's burger bar. Seriously, go to college people. Don't let anybody tell you that you're going to be a manager at the fast food chain someday. You can do it, get educated! "
pangborn wrote on Dec 19, 2008 8:35 AM:
" I don't pay the wages of store clerks, fast food managers or Longshoremen but I do, in part pay the wages of the city council and the folks at city hall and as far as I am concerned they are fired. "
kitten wrote on Dec 19, 2008 9:25 AM:
" I have no problem paying higher wages for a job well done but these guys are joke except maybe for the Fire chief. This town is a mess under their leadership. We continue to attract the hoards of zombies and nutcases because we enable the socks off of them. Until one city leader stands up and says that we need to shut down some of our enabling "programs", I don't think they are worth $2 an hour. Instead of making new ordinances, why not enforce the ones we have? Shut down some of the infested housing that has popped up all over Longview. It is housing the worst of the worst. Nobody wants to be the "badguy". The only place that should remain open is the Community House. "
Proud Teacher wrote on Dec 19, 2008 9:52 AM:
" Pangborn, yes, you do pay for the wages of the longshoremen, fast food managers and store clerks. You would need to be an economic genius to be able to figure out exactly how much of them that you are paying, but you do that. Every time you buy a 2x4 from Home Depot, for example, you are paying for everyone from the CEO of that company down to the people that clean the store. You also are paying for the exact same people at Weyerhauser or whatever company manufactured that 2x4. The difference is that it is your CHOICE to boy the product at Home Depot, Lowe's, Freddys, Lumbermans, etc, and you have NO CHOICE is paying for the salaries of those of us in government. I pay taxes here too, and it's frustrating to know I probably won't get a raise next year as a teacher, but these folks will be getting raises, and not the 2-3% COLA due to teachers, but MUCH more. Take one for the team, government managers, and turn it down. That's how we all band together and weather this economic crisis. Longview is a great place, and we all need to make sacrifices to keep it being a great place. Set a good example, as I keep telling my students. "
swan wrote on Dec 19, 2008 10:21 AM:
" There are too many comments to respond to on here, but I resonate most with KelsoGringo "These are all experienced, educated individuals in charge of important parts of the city." In response to other dumb comments, (1) the PUD raised salaries roughly 10%, and are not affiliated with the City, (2) property taxes do not get paid to the City, those go to the County and are set by the County though the City recovers some of those funds, (3) though these salaries are above the median salary, they demand many more hours than typical jobs and those offset their rate of earnings, (4) these salaries aren't really that high, (5) the cost of living has increased at a rate greater than these salaries are being adjusted. That being said, I do have a problem with some of these salaries, relative to each other. The police chief, the deputy city manager, the finance director, and possibly the fire chief are overpaid, in order of "overpaidness". The public works director, the city attorney, and the community development director are underpaid in order of "underpaidness". And finally, everybody whining about overpaid employees are merely acting out of jealousy. If you took the time, like all of the City employees here did, to invest in yourselves to provide skills, training, or other credentials you might find yourselves in these spots too. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Dec 19, 2008 10:25 AM:
" I think just read the description of trickle down economics. Funny how Liberals negatively use the term when discussing Republican economics but in fact that is exactly how it works. Each job created helps pay for other jobs down the line. That is why any job creation in Longview is extremely important right now. And to our region, which is why the LNG terminal makes sense. We need to raise the revenues so that teachers can continue to live off the taxpayers. Gee that's way too bad that the Liberal gov lied to the teachers union. She lied about a lot of things during the campaign, everyone can see that now. Still, these city govt salaries are seriously out of snyc with this average citizen in Longview. Does anybody really, really believe that we are getting the best we can get for a $100,000 salary on this list. I serviously doubt that. "
Proud Teacher wrote on Dec 19, 2008 11:18 AM:
" BB, let's play nice here and review the facts. Didn't all of us get an education? Don't we all have teachers to thank for helping point us in the right direction? Without teachers "living off the taxpayer" so to speak, there would be no one in this great country that would be skilled enough to do anything, such as own a business or build bridges-things like that. Sorry if you don't like the advances living in this country have brought you. Most other countries in the world value education more than we do. All people owe a great debt to the teachers we have had, and none more than me. "
Proud Teacher wrote on Dec 19, 2008 11:21 AM:
" BB, the LNG terminal is going to be built in Oregon, not here. You can't talk both sides of the issue. In previous posts on many issues, you have stated you only care about job creation in Longview. How can the LNG terminal help that long term? Once the pipeline construction jobs go away, the management and administration jobs are in Oregon and California, heaven forbid! Would you refuse their business if they presented ID that showed they didn't live in Longview or Kelso? To pull out of this mess, you can't think small, and you are proving yet once again that's how you think. "
Caddyshack wrote on Dec 19, 2008 11:26 AM:
" What's so magical about the number $100,000? A lot of people seem hung up over that being the magic number that no one should get paid. Why not $50,000? Or $125,000? Or 200,000? Or 138,496 for that matter? "
Jack Squat wrote on Dec 19, 2008 11:33 AM:
" I bet everyone of you whining about these wages would refuse the high pay if it was offered to you. (wink, wink) "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Dec 19, 2008 12:24 PM:
" PT, I have great respect for the teachers who influenced me. One of the reasons I have respect for them is that they did not need the protection of union to do their jobs. They were not members of a union that illegally used union dues to influence an election. Most of the teachers today hide in their union and never understand what a real job is about, what pay for performance is all about. As for LNG, I know of several Longview companies that could play a role in the construction work. Local Longshoremen would get work unloading the supplies shipped in. It's the trickle down economics that you so aptly described above. I'm not against jobs elsewhere in the area. I just care more about jobs in Longview. You think your Liberal gov did such an important job in Kalama. Good that's her job. I don't think she has done much for jobs in Longview, though, and that's my main concern. And for job you have in Kalama, obviously this area, including Longview, has lost twice as many or more jobs. The unemployment rate tells you that. "
no one wrote on Dec 19, 2008 12:52 PM:
" If you want to place blame for the current status of the budget and for utility increases, place it where it belongs. On certain members of our elected city council who delay decisions because it's an "election year" causing those decisions to cost more in the long run. And not raising rates to levels that are adequate in the first place in an attempt to placate the voters, which from the comments above obviously doesn't work. Putting off those needed increases only makes them larger and harder to deal with when they finally have to be adopted. These salaries are not out of line for other locations, and Perez is fairly new and probably still receiving step raises (raises for increased experience in his current position). Private businesses do the same thing. I suspect there isn't a person posting that didn't end up making more due to experience at their job than they received as a beginning wage. Even burger flippers often end up making more than minimum wage as they receive more time on their jobs. "
no one wrote on Dec 19, 2008 12:58 PM:
" By the way, the city employees are represented by the union and have contracts with automatic annual cost of living increases similar to the percentages shown here. Should the union employees also forgo their raises? If you say no, then you are a hypocrite. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Dec 19, 2008 1:48 PM:
" No one, my point about the salaries was for the decision-makers above the levels that are being cut. I am sorry but in private business when a business loses money, the owner loses. The Liberals continually point to the high salaries of CEOs of companies in trouble. I too think the CEOs should carry part of the burden. And to me, govt is no different. These are the people that are the CEOs. Therefore, just like the CEOs in private business, these CEOs should help carry the burden. To think otherwise is hypocritical in my view. And as I have said before if you want govt to be run more efficiently, then make it like a business and tie salaries to performance. Right now, there is no responsibility in any shape or form. That is why it is so easy to get disillusioned with govt. Here's a budget. Overspend it? So what. The taxpayers will divy up. That's not the way to do business. It shouldn't be the way to do govt either. That why I am dead against these raises and dead against these salaries. We can do better for less, there is no doubt in my mind. These would be called for only if Longview was a thriving, growing community. It is not. In my opinion, it is or has slipped below an average community in this state. That is what the current structure has produced. "
Kalama Dude wrote on Dec 19, 2008 1:51 PM:
" No public school not even in college? Be honest as otherwise the picture keeps getting clearer and clearer. "
Scot Heisel, TDN wrote on Dec 19, 2008 2:13 PM:
" Kalama Dude: Send me an e-mail at sheisel@tdn.com. The address you registered with doesn't work. "
mole wrote on Dec 19, 2008 4:05 PM:
" tingo,if i took one those jobs,"before retireing" IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A PAY CUT FOR ME!!!! I HAVE TWENTY YEARS OF SCHOOLIN' "GRAGEEATED 10TH GRADE TWICE" "
unnown01 wrote on Dec 19, 2008 9:30 PM:
" another perk is you are probably paying for there sell phone there cars there fuel also have an expense accounts so where does one sign up for these jobs most of these people are not doing a very good job i can screw it up for half as much lol "
1arealocal wrote on Dec 20, 2008 12:17 AM:
" RE: TDN BB and swan...excellent posts, particularly yours swan. You people that want to gripe and complain these people make too much money, whaa, whaa, whaa. Yes times are tough for everyone but we aren't in the toughest times yet. You people that voted the liberal politicians into office that hired these people are to blame. True right wing conservatism means responsible fiscal responsibility, not this stuff being forced down our throats right now. Besides for the hours and responsibilities these people have 100k isn't that high. If most of you read SM's post and checked the link these officials make well BELOW the state average for the same position. "
no one wrote on Dec 20, 2008 1:15 AM:
" "unnown01" based on your grasp of spelling and grammar "half as much" would be overpaid. It's unlikely you would recognize the difference between them doing a good job or a bad job. Just because the typical person doesn't like paying higher fees doesn't mean the decisions are bad. Unless you have read all the pertinent information, requirements and studies leading up to their decisions you are not qualified to judge them. And if you are unable to do so you are not qualified for the job. "
friedfish wrote on Dec 20, 2008 6:22 PM:
" True right wing "conservatism" like George Bush? How much was the federal deficit before he took over? I don't have a problem with them having 100K salaries, my problem is with the 20% raises. I've worked 30 yrs at one of larger mills in town and the highest raise I've ever gotten was 30 yrs ago and that was 8%. In the past 20 yrs or so the average has been 3%. They raised property taxes as much as 20% a couple of years back and that had to generate a huge amount of revenue, but we now have a budget deficit? Our roads are falling apart, the city "planners" didn't plan for the future on our water and sewer services, so our rates are going up now to pay for this? We're cutting city services and giving 20% raises? Madness............. I'd be living under a bridge somewhere if I managed my household like the city does. "
theraydude wrote on Dec 20, 2008 8:40 PM:
" yes they are so important right ok big these bastards are robbing us of taxes hello 9.5% enemployment yeah big government please like that lady said stop the insanity thnk god i moved from there i used to be really homesick till i read this article please thats almost one million dollars a year how do they pay there wages with no work there im just disgusted with the government there and how there paid "
1arealocal wrote on Dec 22, 2008 8:54 AM:
" If this article makes you blood boil read where our bailout dollars are going. It is an AP article in todays paper.
RE: friedfish- GW is not a conservative or on the right wing for that matter. He is a left winger dressed in GOP clothing. I really dont know what he is anymore except off his rocker. "
RE: friedfish- GW is not a conservative or on the right wing for that matter. He is a left winger dressed in GOP clothing. I really dont know what he is anymore except off his rocker. "
dirt1 wrote on Dec 23, 2008 12:42 AM:
" that's why they want to increase taxes every time we turn around. who gave them the raise? they made enough before their big raise!!! disappointed!! "
uh huh wrote on Dec 25, 2008 1:31 PM:
" Thanks for placing this online!!! Now we know how much the people on the list get paid to not do their jobs!!! This city is really starting to make me sick to my stomach, we all get underpaid to work are rears off just to pay more taxes so these people can get paid more!!! Let's all get on the forums so we can devise a way to cut all these peoples salaries back!!! For as much as we don't even approve of Perez's tactics he gets a raise...Huh...Let's go to Walmart where the people of the city go to barely get by, and we will all have petitions signed to lower all cities employees wages 10% to help curb this economic downfall!!! This 10% will ad up to over $1,000,000.00!!! Why did they have to have other people from Seattle tell them our city lacks what it really needs because of the people working for the city don't care? For a recession time these people will never feel it because they give themselves raises and it hits us poor people harder because their raises take away opportunities for the entry level people to have a good paying entry level position. Let's elect people that have a great work ethic and understand the problems the people are having. Not having the current elected officials would free up at least $2,000,000 for needed projects, and the new ones would actually work for less!!! "
swan wrote on Dec 26, 2008 8:46 AM:
" dear uh huh, before you comment your mind, get your math straight. I'm not going to pick it apart, but it speaks for itself. My other comment, in response, is that elected officials don't get paid that much - to the tune of roughly $8000/yr for a council member. "
uh huh wrote on Dec 26, 2008 10:36 PM:
" Sorry "Swan", we the people strongly disagree with the wages that are shown here above. I feel if you read through you'll understand what this is all about. :) Also the citizens of this town want a better town along with people that work for them. I merely stated that these people are severely overpaid for the lack of work they do and the city needs come to a realization that we need better spending. It makes me wonder how many republicans are in Longview Office trying to help their friends out with raises while Fibre continues with rolling shutdowns, massive layoffs rape our town of sanity, and these people get raises. What did they do to deserve those raises? Can't answer that one can you? Also don't you agree if there is a person that can do a better job and get paid less for the job we should utilize that, or just waste our money by having nothing getting done. I GUARANTEE that I would do a better job than some of these officials shown above and for half the pay. Your in denial if you think these people are doing their jobs efficiently enough. One last thing is how many officials do we need for 2 towns that are supposed to be one? The answer, a lot less. :) "
uh huh wrote on Dec 26, 2008 10:44 PM:
" Sorry Rocketdad, if the officials knew how to do their jobs there wouldn't be any problems that needed addressed. Like this raise issue. Also, did they get the raises because they needed gas money for work, still don't understand why you give slackers raises, Wendy's doesn't. "
Hogwashin wrote on Dec 27, 2008 11:13 AM:
" Did anyone in Longview, other than public employees, get a raise this year? Most private industries cut jobs and froze wages. "
Hogwashin wrote on Dec 27, 2008 11:39 AM:
" Mr. Bastinado's comments should be carefully reviewed by our county officals.
See the report here:
https://www.nationalcity.com/main/micro-site/economics/commentary-analysis/pages/housing-valuation-analysis.asp?WT.vanity=HouseValuation
This is an report on home AFFORDABILITY. That means it is the ratio of local wages to local home values. The average wage in Longview is extremely low which makes even a modest home unafforable for the average buyer.
Does this post help the officials understand why the average wage earner is upset with the huge raises?
Does this help the officals understand that the bubble supporting the huge raises is about to burst?
POP!!! "
See the report here:
https://www.nationalcity.com/main/micro-site/economics/commentary-analysis/pages/housing-valuation-analysis.asp?WT.vanity=HouseValuation
This is an report on home AFFORDABILITY. That means it is the ratio of local wages to local home values. The average wage in Longview is extremely low which makes even a modest home unafforable for the average buyer.
Does this post help the officials understand why the average wage earner is upset with the huge raises?
Does this help the officals understand that the bubble supporting the huge raises is about to burst?
POP!!! "
Hogwashin wrote on Dec 27, 2008 12:27 PM:
" Mr. Bastinado says that his 'property taxes get hiked EVERY FREAK'N YEAR even though valuations SHOULD BE DROPPING.' Here is what is really happening... The county tax assessor determines the value of your home, based on the average sale price in your area EXCLUDING forced sales. Forced sales are those sales caused by bankruptcy or forclosure. The county artifically boosts the tax assessed values higher than the true market value by intentionally leaving the low priced sales out of the average. "
RALMom2 wrote on Dec 28, 2008 1:22 AM:
" I say we fire all these people and each street in Longview should take care of their own people on their own street. If there is a fire on your street the neighbors should help you get it out, there should be a designated police officer living on each end of your street, each street can decide if they want to allow cruising, underaged drinking, etc. Of course nobody would be allowed off their residential street without written permission from the designated Mayor of each street you want to visit. Mail should be dropped off at the end of the street and one person on each street can pass it out to neighbors. The smartest person on each street would be in charge of schooling the children on their street. Last but not least there needs to be one person in charge of screwing up the flow of traffic by adding turn lanes and barriers so you can't drive directly to where you're going so you will still feel like you're living in Longview. (Make sure that person overspends when it comes to putting in turn lanes that make NO SENSE and aren't needed in the first place!) "
tigersmom wrote on Dec 28, 2008 3:46 PM:
" THEY ALL NEED TO TAKE A PAY CUT.. JUST LIKE SOME OF US WORKING STIFFS! "
candy wrote on Dec 28, 2008 7:20 PM:
" I'm all for education, but that is really not the point here. What is relevant is that our country is experiencing hard times, and this group of people should not be exempt from the hiring freeze. State workers won't get a raise this year, so what makes this group of people so special. And by the way, who ever said that just because you work at the local burger bar, your a lower class citizen than the guy with the B.A. Shame on all of you with that kind of mentality. "
pierce co. repub. wrote on Dec 29, 2008 9:20 AM:
" Looks like the fire chief salary has more than doubled since dad was chief.... "
pierce co. repub. wrote on Dec 29, 2008 9:23 AM:
" Gregory and Perez are worth every dime... There are plenty of other cities out there willing to pay them more. "
kitten wrote on Dec 29, 2008 9:27 AM:
" I have seen a huge number of people with degrees who are dumber that dirt and a huge number of people without degrees who are movers and shakers with innovative ideas and the ability to put them into play. The bottom line for me is that these people are not improving Longview so therefore are not earning a raise. The only thing they have accomplished is getting a new Walmart coming in. It really pegs the problem. I don't think a town our size should make it their goal to cram as many Walmarts as they can into the city limits. "
allbeefnobull wrote on Dec 29, 2008 11:37 AM:
" kitten your exactly right. All this Made in china stuff is why were at where were at. Get theses overpaid sellout artists a one way ticket to china and get some officials who will support a manufacturing base here. Walmart is part of the problem-not the solution. "
sosorry wrote on Dec 29, 2008 10:58 PM:
" I have watched Longview grow a lot the last few years. There are really way too many people jammed into the area now. The housing boom generated a huge increase in tax dollars rolling in. There has been an overall huge increase in the amount of industry on the river. I see most everyone driving fancy new cars. Lots of high priced homes all over the hillsides. Yes there is layoffs and misery by the boat load coming our way but these wages are normal and the comments by "swan" are right on. Personally I have never minded seeing other people have success by way of hanging in there doing these kinds of jobs. Some one has to do them. It is most definitely not the easy gravy train taxpayers like to holler about. As the local economy collapses there will be readjustments all over the place. It will be their job to make quite a number of painful administrative decisions. It will not be an easy time for anyone and we will all do the best we can. As for these jokers who are so busy insulting people by going after their politics in some kind of extremist fashion, remember this: you are probably borderline mentally ill it is a shame you wont get some help. "
98626 wrote on Dec 30, 2008 5:24 AM:
" Do these officials salary package include benefits such as medical insurance and things like that? If so I would like to know what the total employment package is worth...not just the annual salary. If the other benefits are included...what does the annual salary really equate to? Does anybody "
dont care wrote on Jan 2, 2009 3:57 PM:
" This is America people! Money is what makes this country so attractive to every other country out there. If it wasn't for high salary jobs or the prospect of fame and freedom do you think this country would exsist? People that are broke and never did anything with their lives are the ones most likely to complain it's called education and sacrifice. Most of these politicians are still probably paying off HUGE student loans. This is what America is all about!! "
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