Writer Questions Public Pay

By: DeAntha Wright-Thornburg

Just how much are good employees worth?

It’s that time of year again when our local governments will sit down to hammer out the budget for 2024. Every year the same men and women, our “elected officials,” will measure the city and county employees’ worth by the value of a dollar. That power of a select few decides whether our city and county employees can afford to pay their bills.

A certain few will decide whether they can buy groceries or save a little to purchase a house – that all-important American dream of owning their own home or having enough money to get their son or daughter into college. Steadfast, not everyone is destined to be a teacher, nurse, doctor or accountant. But in today’s world, secondary education is necessary for the next generation to make a living.

Let’s get back to today. A select few hold the lives of many by measuring their self-worth in dollars and cents. A lot depends on the individual, the color of the uniform they wear or their title. Or maybe it’s the department they were hired by.

On each side of the coin, the city and county’s main topic of conversation is “Public Safety.” Of course, it’s a significant topic. Why is it that our elected officials forget about that ripple effect? The color of the uniform shouldn’t measure the worth of an individual’s duties.

I ask why the CPD, the Montgomery Sherriff Department, or Dispatch and Fire Department are more critical than our street department, the county workforce or the staff at the city and county offices? All have public safety as a priority.

Hats off to the men and women who stepped up after the storm and took control of our city, assessing and removing the many downed trees from our power lines and clearing roads, assisting CEL&P in getting the many without power back online. The color of their uniforms is orange, green or those wearing hard hats. They stepped up and spent long hours, some as many as 60, 70 hours plus. Some were working through the night.

After the storms had passed, local personnel traveled south to assist others affected by the storms. They are just as crucial as any individuals walking the beat. They are your public servants, and the public’s safety is their priority. They are just one section of that ripple effect of public safety, including those on the streets to those at the city building or government center.

Let’s look at those who make government function – those behind the scenes. On the county side of the coin, they refer to job positions having a ‘value.’ I love the description that defines a job classification system to provide an equitable pay structure for county and city employees – the many individuals who handle payroll, insurance and taxes. More than $200 million dollars pass through the books between the city and county monies. Several of our elected officials want to marginalize the duties held primarily by women. These groups have historically been disempowered and oppressed by influential individuals.

At the county level, a liaison is assigned to each department – someone representing that department and its staff. The unfortunate story is that they seldom make an appearance.

At the city level, more than $300,000 is paid every two weeks. If those checks are not recorded and sent, our public servants do not get that paycheck on Friday – the same for the county government. Suppose the books do not balance out. The staff will stay after quitting time to find any errors. One afternoon, more than $36 million dollars was recorded as tax revenue on the books. There is no room for error; millions of dollars cross the pages of our county government. There is a great deal of responsibility in the county and city offices. The staff must interpret both state and federal laws.

The individuals signing the checks are responsible for that money. They are accountable for every dollar. The staff in the auditor’s office, the treasure and the assessor’s office, of both our county and city governments, are the real professionals behind the scenes of public safety. Starting wage in the assessor’s office at the county level with 27 years of work experience and education starting wage is $30,000. Good people with understanding and experience deserve more than $17 an hour.

At the Crawfordsville Police Department since April of 2022, more than 130 years of service and knowledge walked out the door because of retirement. What will it take to keep qualified individuals in our county and city governments? A decent living wage is the first step. The next step depends on you, the City and County Councils. A small group of people holds the lifeline to having a qualified, educated workforce dedicated to our community. That lifeline is money. Will you continue to hold an iron fist on the purse costing us qualified people who would bring families seeking opportunities in our community with them?

Montgomery County Auditor Mindy Byers recently made a presentation to the Montgomery County Council. Her presentation assessed the wages of individuals in the counties surrounding Montgomery County. She compared like positions with those of our community. I encourage our elected officials to look closely at the materials Ms. Byers presented. Money will be a necessary piece of the puzzle to draw and retain a qualified workforce.

Ms. Byers also shared this with me. “I’ve had five very qualified people retract their application due to low pay in the last month.”

According to the numbers, our community fell behind by several thousand dollars. During that presentation, it was evident that our elected officials dismissed her presentation as representing persons doing simple clerical work. Our elected officials have tunnel vision seeing only the color of the uniform our people wear. Public safety isn’t about the color of your uniform but the community you serve.

As in years past, Ms. Byers will have to beg to get equal pay for the duties of her staff. Good luck, Ms. Byers it’s sad you and your staff will be judged by a dollar value because a select few continue to marginalize the positions of your staff as “just clerical.”

-DeAntha Wright-Thornburg worked for the Indiana Department of Transportation for more than 30 years and is also a freelance journalist.