MASON CITY – The Cerro Gordo County Compensation Board recommended a 2.25% pay increase for elected officials and non-bargaining employees Tuesday evening.
The board meets once a year to make salary recommendations to the County Supervisors for elected officials and non-bargaining employees working for the county. The Supervisors make the final determination on what increase, if any, will be granted. The board recommended a 1.5% pay increase in 2011.
The board sang strong praises for the Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors, and refused to acknowledge an assertion by Chris Watts of Mason City that the supervisors are overpaid and only serve part-time.
Former Mason City Mayor Tom Jolas, a member of the board, said “I’m really deeply concerned about the cost of the (health) insurance, a lot.” See video for discussion on insurance rate cost increases.
Board member Tim LaPointe said, in offering a 2.5% raise and a temporary 2% increase in county contributions to health care premiums (both were rejected), that “we may not have good economic times throughout the country, but we do here in Cerro Gordo county” and credited the board of supervisors for his assertion.
State figures show that in 2011, 6,306 people took food assistance in Cerro Gordo county, or about 14% of the county population.
“We’ve got surplus, we’ve got fund balance of well over $12 million,” LaPointe said. “Why shouldn’t we give a raise?”
NIT was recently told by Joey Van Zomeren, executive director of the Trinity House of Hope, that her women’s shelter is asking the county for $10,000 and that due to a major increase in rent, her agency may need to move from its location at 2 South Adams Avenue. The Cerro Gordo County Supervisors denied the women’s shelter funding last year.
Subscribers, watch full meeting:
httpv://youtu.be/8-khFUWikAE
Wow, this story coupled with Pat the Democrat, should be ran as headliners from now till next Election!!
Really SAD to see how much behind the scenes crap goes on in the County that I never read in the Globe before.
And yes that makes me wonder about re-newing my subscription also.
Just listen to Jolas in this video. He doesn’t have a clue.
Plus it looked to me like there was a motion on the floor with a second that was never voted on while the “chair”- Jay’s friend Tom, was excepting another motion on the floor???
Why,wanted to get MORE money for his pals!!
Watch the video.
Just my thoughts here. I don’t work for the county, my health care insurance sky rocked for this next year by over 20%, thank you Mr, Obama, and this is is just the start. More regulations start next year as well. (Were we not lead down the path that Obama care would reduce costs?)I did not get a raise this year and none of us at our business have had a raise for 4 years. That is the difference in the public and private sector.
As far as the compensation board goes, I don’t understand how Tom Jolas is even on that board, let alone the chair. He couldn’t even float his own business, but he can sure as heck spend your money.(His business was foreclosed on.)
Jolas needs to go away, we went through this last year as well.
Numerous private sector employees in our area got raises in contracts negotiated in 2012. They pay their share of the cost of benefits, including retirement of course, but still got ahead.
Let’s not forget those who left Mason City for greener pastures. Even places in the Mid-West expanded and prospered.
And of course, there are those who were quite satisfied settling for what scraps their employers tossed from their tables.
For the life of me, I cannot understand why some people get so upset when a group of employees get together and negotiate better wages and working conditions. And as we see, non-bargaining unit employees benefit from those negotiations.
You would rather cut them back to minimum wages and strip their benefits? In doing so, you further damage the local economy, and send more folks away from the area following the money.
Just because some suffer does not mean the rest of the world should follow suit. Just because you and your fellow workers refuse to bargain with your employer for better, does not me the rest of us should do the same. Or is this a race to the bottom?
What a crock of %^&*!!!
The “good ole boys” at their best!
SADLY, we all put up with it.
Did any of you watch the video?
Totally amazing how the “high & mighty” think raises are in order with this economy!
Unfortunately, looked like Matt and Chris Watts were the only public speaking. Wake up people!!
It’s your money. When is enough enough??
“blog”: your comment makes no sense.
Just another Bell California.
Latest figures show with benefits public employees now make double than a public employee doing the same type of work. Just some food for thought.
Latest figures from where? Blog, when you make claims like this, you need to prove that they are true, and not your figures that came to you while you were sleeping.
These employees deserve a raise if they can prove they are underpaid compared to other counties in Iowa.
So you’re saying those people should have to bargain collectively to prove they’re worth the money?
Yes they should have to collectively bargain to prove they deserve this raise. I don’t believe they should just be given a 2.25% wage increase unless it can be proven they are underpaid. I am not sure how this board came up with this number maybe they did compare wages with other places.
We have a balance of over 12 million dollars, why shouldn’t (we) get a raise. Now what kind of thinking is that. The rich get richer, get to go home to their nice warm houses, and the poor, well, I guess, they get to go live under a bridge. No wait, Mason City doesn’t allow that, oh well…
If you think the majority of county employees are rich you should do a little more research
calvin r, I’m not talking about the county employees that actually do the work. This story is about the elected officials and the non barganing people getting a raise. I’m talking about the elected officials getting 2.5% when others are getting less.
Yes please give these fat cat pubil servants a 125/250 dollar per month raise along with their bennies – MAKES YOU PUKE !