EDITORIAL: Consider impact of personnel compensation on seniors' pockets

As the city of Coeur d’Alene continues working on its budget, resident Ted Turrentine offered some sound advice, which we encourage councilors and administrators to heed. 

It is pretty simple, and it is this: When negotiating contracts with employees, please consider the impact on residents, but more specifically, seniors on fixed income, as there are a lot of them.

“Keep us in mind,” said Turrentine, who is retired. 

He noted that the Social Security cost-of-living-adjust is 2.5% this year. Most employees will get more than that, 3%, which Turrentine doesn’t have a problem with. If they deserve higher pay, fine, they should have it. The concern is that rising personnel costs in the city affect property taxes, which affects the bottom line of taxpayers. 

The city, we believe, operates a pretty tight ship. They are not prone to spending money unnecessarily. And the City Council, which approves the budget, keeps a close watch on operations and spending. 

The city must balance between rewarding its employees with fair wages and benefits, while not providing wages and benefits that are so generous they remove too much money from taxpayers’ pockets. The city has done well in holding the line on property taxes and while it took the allowable 3% last year, it has long been reluctant to do so. 

Turrentine offers some ways to reduce personnel costs, such as reducing the amount of sick leave or bereavement pay that can be accrued over time. 

“They're just life events that happen to everyone. I'm not sure the taxpayer should be on the hook for those types of things,” he said. 

It is not a crazy suggestion. 

As the budget is rounded into shape for a proposal to go to the City Council, we encourage administrators to do their best to keep expenses in line, and we encourage the City Council, as it always does, to closely review the spending. Last year’s budget was $139 million. It will certainly go up. Property taxes could, as well.

Certainly the city should compensate its employees fairly so it keeps good staff on board, but it must not be overly generous, either. The city has walked that line successfully in the past and we believe will do so again.

Turrentine, fellow seniors and The Press will appreciate their diligence. 

"Us retired seniors would definitely like to stay in our homes,” he said. 

We want you there, too.