Fumbling…

In last week’s issue of the Cook County News-Herald, County Administrator Jeff Cadwell attempted to justify irrationally indulgent wage increases by extolling the significant role county staff play in providing valuable services to the public; noting, “Staff costs (wages and benefits) make up half of the county’s operating budget.”

While a majority of Cook County residents recognize and appreciate the dedication of those who serve our community, there remains another component to—as Cadwell put it—“the equation”: That nagging binary operator identified as fiscal responsibility.

When negotiating wages for any contracting group there must be an assessment of the ability to come up with the necessary dollars.

Identified among the objectives, within the framework of the referenced Keystone Compensation Study, was this obligation to…assess the budget impact of any proposal.

Had it not been for some unexpected last-minute revenues that came galloping over the hill–combined with a dip into the reserve pool and some monetary gymnastics–“ Humpty” might have found himself “off the wall.”

Robert Heinlein, considered the “dean of science fiction writers,” penned in his book, Stranger in a Strange Land, “Government! Three fourths parasitic and the other fourth stupid fumbling.”

It seems too much of what we are enslaved with, as Cook County taxpayers, qualifies as “stupid fumbling”; or, at least, “science fiction.” You know, those fanciful imaginings about our future that dominating officials employ as emotive weapons to force us into paying for what we do not want merely because officials think it would be good for us.

With this in mind, let’s revisit some of Mr. Cadwell’s claims: . Claim: “The study revealed that Cook County paid its employees at 90 percent of the median [half earn more/half earn less] for the group–or 10 percent less than the median pay of the peer group studied.” Reality: According to the January 2017 final Keystone report, “Cook County’s actual pay is competitive with market median (100.7 percent).” When the 22 comparable counties were polled, it was discovered Cook County was right on market; actually, roughly 1 percent higher than the peer group studied.

“Cook County employees are paid at 91 percent of current maximum,” with the maximum anchored to the market findings. . Claim: “Recruitment is not always easy. For example, Cook County could not find an engineer. Cook County wages for the advertised position were $10,000 less than other counties actively recruiting.” Reality: According to salary.com, the leading resource for compensation data, the average wage for a civil engineering technician in Minnesota, as of February 2019, is $47,686.

Cook County is offering this position at an hourly range of: $25.49 – $36.42. This translates to $53,019 – $75,754 a year, 11 percent higher than the state’s average (at the low range), and 59 percent higher than the state’s average (at the top of the range).

Consider: There are presently a half-dozen engineering technician position openings posted on the Association of Minnesota Counties website. Cook County’s salary offering ranges from 9 percent to 39 percent higher (on the low range of the pay scale), among these counties, to 12.5 percent to 71 percent higher (on the top range of the pay scale).

According to the ZipRecruiter website, there are presently 377 Civil Engineering Technician jobs available in the state of Minnesota. Couple this with a recent AARP report identifying engineers among the top five occupations most at risk of labor shortages, 2017 – 2020 . . . and maybe the reason some positions are hard to fill is not due to low wages; rather, the fact there is a shortage of qualified individuals…“fish in the lake.”

Does this imply we should “owe our souls to the company store?” . Claim: “The contracts resulted in a significant wage increase. A large portion of which was offset by an increase in staff contributions toward their health insurance. With wages increasing at 1-4 percent annually in recent years and health insurance premium increases varying from 6-26 percent, it will only be a short time before this change in compensation strategy provides budget relief.” Reality: The importance of employee benefits is something that can’t be overstated. Most employees value their benefits as much as they do their salary, so much so that one survey found that almost 90 percent of employees said their employee benefits meant as much as their salary.

Cadwell fails to reveal that contract language provides the opportunity for the bargaining units to renegotiate the employee health care contributions if the cost of the insurance increases more than 10 percent. It is conceivable the contribution could be reduced even as county costs for insurance premiums rise.

An October 2010 report, “Minnesota Public Sector Compensation,” published by Minnesota Taxpayers Association (now Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence) cautions, “Compensation costs run the risk of crowding out other areas of government spending or forcing a downsizing of the workforce relative to population.

“As with Minnesota state employees, our findings indicate that local government employee health care and pensions are costlier to local governments than are health care and pension offered by private sector employees. When combined with the local government employee/private-sector employee wage differentials, this yields much higher public sector total compensation costs in many instances.

“Employer cost comparisons are essential to public and private sector compensation comparisons, but any analysis of compensation is incomplete without a consideration of the design and generosity of the fringe benefit plans offered to employees.”

Something, as commissioner, I suggested at the time–without inclusion– compromised the integrity of the study. Keystone did not provide the county with this “fringe benefit” analysis option.

What Keystone did determine, through county staff interviews, was a prevailing perception that employees are “overworked” and “underpaid.” The findings of the study concluded, however, there was nothing significant to believe the employees’ perceptions were in any way accurate.

But here’s where the “stupid fumbling, bumbling, stumbling” part enters the narrative…

Three of the five commissioners had not read or understood the terms of the contracts prior to voting to approve.

In addition, the Keystone Study never recommended anything having to do with salary or other benefit increases. It simply was not included in the scope of the project. The administrator is attempting to put the massive increases on the back of Keystone to somehow absolve county “leadership” of any responsibility; reminiscent of American comedian “Flip” Wilson Jr.’s, “the devil made me do it.”

In fact, the county’s personnel committee knew nothing of the—dare I say—“scheme.” Details came to light following ratification by an uninformed board!

A compensation study is a vehicle to provide information, which may be used to determine direction; it does not result in mandates from the consulting firm, nor does it make specific recommendations. These decisions are left up to the governing body based on an evaluation of the findings…“governing body.”… might I suggest, therein lies the problem.

“An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy.”

~Daniel Webster (1782–1852)

For additional information reference CCNH previous columns addressing these issues: February 24, 2018 issue, “Compensation Study – Part I” and the July 28, 2018 issue, “The Rest of the Story.” Available online at: www.cookcountynews-herald.com/.

Former Cook County Commissioner Garry Gamble is writing this ongoing column about the various ways government works, as well as other topics. At times the column is editorial in nature.