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Pry open the pay vault, peer inside

| March 23, 2014 9:00 PM

Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer is doing what he said he would do.

For that, even some people who voted for him aren't terribly excited at the moment.

The political promise we're talking about is Widmyer's pledge to thoroughly study pay and benefits for the city's 350 employees. Last week the mayor announced that he's putting together a panel to begin digging deep into the story of all those dollars, and while some voters are issuing a qualified "huzzah," others are crossing their arms and frowning. Others being city employees, most likely.

The "qualified" part of the huzzahing is general indigestion over the composition of a panel Widmyer is putting together to look into this $29 million commitment. That's $29 million in city employee pay and benefits this year - $18,864,431 in pay, $9,952,986 in benefits - likely to escalate when the next fiscal year's budget is approved later this summer. Last July, The Press reported that Coeur d'Alene city employees already earn 11.5 percent more than their counterparts in 13 other comparable cities and the state, as well.

About that panel. Widmyer has invited two council members, Kiki Miller and Woody McEvers, to join him and the following ad-hoc committee members: City Administrator Wendy Gabriel, Finance Director Troy Tymesen, Human Resources Director Melissa Tosi, City Attorney Mike Gridley, and representatives from the three unions that have collective bargaining rights with the city.

No sooner had The Press published the story of Widmyer forming the panel than cries of "foul" rang out. Why would he include the very people who created inflated wages and benefits in the first place and tied them up in contracts that run to the middle of 2017 and 2018, they asked? That's a fair question. And the fair answer is that Widmyer is only beginning the analysis process. These panelists will help gather data; each has an expert role in that process. They will not revise the process or, necessarily, even be relied on to recommend changes. Those decisions will be left to the City Council.

That will come a little later this summer, if Widmyer receives the money he has requested for an intensive study of the city's wages and benefits. He estimates the study will cost $38,000, a fee that has some city officials fussing because the money isn't budgeted. We eagerly encourage the city to find that money. If they could pay some $50,000 for an unbudgeted snowblower, it seems they could dig out $38,000 for a study that could identify serious long-term savings for taxpayers.

Stay tuned. When public workers' pay and benefits are subject to open, thorough review, employee unhappiness is almost guaranteed. If they're shown to be underpaid they're not happy. If they're shown to be overpaid they're not happy - at least, not if corrections are to be made. Mayor Widmyer's goal is fair pay, and that should make everyone happy.