City Taxpayer wrote on Feb 10, 2008 12:01 AM:Let's see, sales tax revenues are down as Carlsbad outpaces Escondido in auto sales, Escondido's California Center for the Arts continues operating at a deficit, The City of Escondido continues to have the highest paid city attorney and second-highest paid city manager in the county, and now rank and file city employees get a "stipend" instead of regular pay raises? Hmmm. What's wrong with this picture? Good thing that at the first sign of trouble, city manager Clay Phillips invoked a hiring freeze. Oh yeah, that would be a no-brainer anyway. How about reducing city management salaries by 7.5 percent, or at least give them a stipend as well, rather than increasing their already inflated salaries? You know, like the city manager and his two assistant city managers, the city attorney, all the department heads, etc.? Shouldn't that be a no-brainer too, or do just the rank and file get to feel the pinch?

Karl wrote on Feb 10, 2008 6:58 AM:Let's see, the City is out of money. How about acting reponsible and forgoing raises, stipends and cutting salaries?

Pablo wrote on Feb 10, 2008 2:09 PM:Escondido could get itself out of the financial crisis it is in by following Pasadena's on-street overnight parking permit example. Instead of giving permits away, Escondido should sell yearly permits to those who qualify for them under whatever rules the Council sets. They should also sell single night visitor permits. Thereafter any vehicle parked on a street between 2AM and 5AM without a permit should be ticketed. In addition to the millions in revenue this policy would raise from people utilizing public streets to subsidize their off-street parking deficiencies the overcrowded residential units existing in Escondido would, over a short period of time, evolve into dwellings occupied by less people who earn more and therefore do not have to overcrowd to make ends meet. Those people will earn more and spend more adding to the sales tax revenue.

sickofit wrote on Feb 10, 2008 5:35 PM:In private industry, when revenues are down, nobody gets a raise or a bonus. Why are government employees continually given special benefits? A government for the people? I don't think so.

Chubton wrote on Feb 10, 2008 7:50 PM:Didn't the Council give themselves a raise within the past year?
Maybe the should give that up?
And wasn't there this big fire thing traveling through N.County recently?
If I were a fireman or policeman, I might considering moving to Riverside, too.

clueless wrote on Feb 11, 2008 9:48 AM:You people are obviously clueless about public employees. Many employees at Escondido haven't received raises for years and they are paid below many other cities. We aren't talking about top brass here fellas, we are talking about good, hardworking people at mid and lower levels that have been losing ground to inflation for years (because of meager raises). This isn't about Council's giving themselves raises and City Manager's salaries. It's about hard working people that are underpaid. Please quit posting on these boards if you don't have anything good to say or don't have any facts because you sound very unintelligent and uninformed.

respnse to sickofit wrote on Feb 11, 2008 9:56 AM:Sickofit,

I've been watching my friends in the private sector get healthy bonuses every year for the last 5 years while I, who works in the public sector, received NADA during those good times. I think you need to re-evaluate your stance friend, because it reeks of mis-information. The private sector has out-paced your standard city government employee by MANY percentage points in raises over the last 5 years or so. Believe it, I'm living proof as are dozens of my coworkers.

City Taxpayer to clueless and response to sickofit wrote on Feb 11, 2008 6:01 PM:As a former Escondido city employee who's gone back to school and moved on to better things, you need to remember this: There is only so much money in the city budget each year. City management people get priority as far as the council is concerned, then the rank and file get whatever is left. This goes all the way back to the 1980s, when Escondido city manager Vern Hazen was making more than Governor Deukmejian, which is absurd and ridiculous. But that mentality prevails in California. As far as the private sector, the money private industry people make is paid for by the revenues the company earns, not from the public trough funded by the taxpayers. As Escondido city management has shown for years, they get whatever they can convince the council they're worth and the council usually gives it to them. The rank and file get whatever's left. Then when it comes time to cut and trim, it's certainly not the city management salaries that get it, but those of the rank and file.

To Clueless wrote on Feb 19, 2008 5:27 PM:Your name suits you. If these city employees are so underpaid...then they should definately seek employment elsewhere. I think the majority of these employees are thankful for their pay and don't feel they are being used. There are plenty of hardworking people out there that would love to work at the city and have all the benefits that come with it. At the same time, there are alot of city employees that have their hands out every year - regardless of the city's financial situation. I personally cannot believe that any city employee is getting a raise/stipend - but that's our city council for you!