“Pa. mayors sing union blues” reports “Rising salaries and benefits for police and firefighters are wrecking city budgets in Pennsylvania, according to mayors….
“…a Lancaster Newspapers investigation shows that starting annual salaries for Lancaster police officers and firefighters have risen from about $11,000 in 1980 to $40,000 this year – an increase far beyond the rate of inflation. Moreover, the average Lancaster police officer or firefighter earned nearly $60,000 last year – 62 percent more than the average county wage earner’s $37,000.
“In addition, management salaries in other city departments have been frozen for 2010, while police receive 2 percent wage increases in both January and July and firefighters get a 3.25 percent hike for the year.”
Mayor Rick Gray is quoted “The pendulum has swung too far in one direction.”
An insert states “INSIDE STORY, A Lancaster Newspapers Investigation.”
WATCHDOG: Two wags of the tail for excellent reporting.
The extracts above do not reflect the article’s fair balancing of the positions of both mayors and unions, but rather were chosen to indicate the seriousness of the problem.
We agree with Mayor Gray that the “pendulum has swung too far in one direction”. This may be in part due to the time delay between awards and the neutral arbitrators’ recognizing the seriousness of the nation’s and cities’ fiscal circumstances, especially during this Great Recession. They probably rely on precedents from better times which no longer should be controlling.
No matter how estimable they may be, compensation for police and firefighters is now excessive. A moratorium and possibly some give-backs are in order.
We recommend that everyone carefully read the article and derive his / her own opinion.
