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June 7, 2010

Community rallies to save WCI's VP position and a look at the city's 100K employees

Sorry I haven't been able to post many of my rants on this site. I've been busy, very busy, keep up with all the news that's going on in town--there's lots!--as city finalizes it's budget and school lets out. I think we have some good stories on Walnut Creek Patch.

--Walnut Creek's 100K-plus employees About one third of Walnut Creek's employees made more than $100,000 in 2009. Having this number of six-figure incomes: Is it right for this town, in these challenging times, to pay workers in this way. Or is it what we should expect of the Bay Area economy in the 21st century.
--Community Rallies to Keep Two People doing vice principal duties at WCI.
Parent leaders and Walnut Creek Intermediate are working on a plan so that the school has two people providing discipline and counseling and doing other things to keep the school safe and the kids well.

I think we have some good stories on Walnut Creek Patch, and I'm sorry it's different. I'm getting used to some things, too. You should still be able to comment anonymously or under a clever user name. Last I checked, you have to go through the same registration process for the SFGate which very active comment boards. Although, I must say, the conversation on the SFGate blogs are nowhere near as thoughtful or interesting as what we've had going here.

10 comments:

Anne said...

1/3 seems top heavy but I can see how it would happen since the city had to compete for good people with private businesses back when times were booming. If you couple that with low turnover and people gaining seniority legitimately, it's understandable but maybe not sustainable right now.

Anonymous said...

Regarding anonymity on WC Patch: Not quite, true, SM. A person still MUST provide a valid email address to register. Where is the anonymity in that?

Martha Ross said...

11:10 a.m
The email registration: Something to bring up with the bosses. Personally, I have rarely commented on sites. I'm a lurker. I almost wanted to comment once on SFgate but they have the registration process, and I was too lazy. Or I didn't want to have to remember another user name or password--in case this system said I couldn't use it.

Insider said...

WC is top-heavy. Middle managers should be eliminated to reduce the bureaucracy.. they've become too busy protecting their jobs instead of moving the organization forward.

JT said...

Can you post the same articles from Patch to C.I.S. so I may post comments? It's more fun and much easier to do so here.

Thanks,

Loyal C.I.S. reader

Anonymous said...

JT,
Why are you creating more work for SM? She actually gets paid for her work on Patcch and it would be easy to register over there. You can use your JT pen name. I am registered on Patch and is easy to make comments there.

Anonymous said...

Just because their salaries compare to other cities, still doesn't make it right.

Anonymous said...

The article says half of those people were cops collecting that 6 figures, some of it because of O.T.
Cops are not highly skilled with a two year degree, or some military service. There are many out there looking for jobs with this economy hire them for cheaper. It's WC not Richmond or Oakland. Traffic and drunks are most of it here.

Happy Anonymous said...

The site that really fouls me up is ning. I register and reregister and still can't comment. Nix ning.

Anonymous said...

Wow -- once again, people are misinformed about WC, and make comments even thought they do not know.

6:40 says that "Cops are not highly skilled with a two year degree, or some military service. There are many out there looking for jobs with this economy hire them for cheaper. It's WC not Richmond or Oakland. Traffic and drunks are most of it here."

Most of the WC officers have 4 year college degrees - in police science. This is not the old days where a two-year degree would suffice. It is much more competitive, and a four year (or more) degree is needed. How many times have you talked with a WC police officer -- really talked with one? They are bright, educated and dedicated. And, most of the problems out here are NOT drunks and traffic. Look at the police blotter regularly and you will see how hard they have to work. I bet if you had an issue, you would want one of our officers showing up to help you.

With that said, I do not know how our PD salaries compare to other cities. Is it above the median? I hope so, as that will attract and retain qualified officers. Would I like to see them pay more of their share of their pensions? Frankly, yes I would. I believe they can afford to do so, and they should also contribute back to the city that is pretty good to them.

And as for overtime: If it is justified, then so be it. Would you want to spend an additional three or four hours after your job for no compensation? Itis not like some of us who can just show up late the next day a couple of hours since we worked late the night before.

C'mon people - lighten up, and get your facts straight.