Small Town News

City employees do the right thing

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Sammamish city employees have regularly proven their dedication, but last week they made a real sacrifice when they agreed to a pay cut. Their actions prove their dedication once again.

City staff is typically unappreciated and sometimes maligned by the members of the community they serve.

We've seen dozens of instances where citizens question their integrity, yet they always reply with the utmost professionalism.

Typically, they receive an annual pay increase, which matches the annual rate of inflation.

Now that the time has come for that annual cost of living raise, the city staff looked at the inflation rate, which has gone down for the first time in memory, and did the honorable thing -- they took a pay cut.

The size of the cut, four tenths of a percent, doesn't sound like much, but the symbolism is what's important here. The employees could have insisted that their pay, at least, remain flat.

They could have lobbied for some sort of raise. Instead, they acknowledged that times are tough, and they were willing to do their part. We salute them.

We would be remiss if we did not also mention the administrative staff at Eastside Fire & Rescue, which accepted a salary freeze.

While not as extreme as the actions taken by city employees, the administrators show they understand the fiscal realities that all government agencies are facing again this year.

Last year, we blasted firefighters for taking a large raise because of a quirk in the cost of living calculations at the time.

We can only hope that now, when that same quirk is likely to point to a pay decrease, they follow the lead of city of Sammamish employees and watch their paychecks get smaller.

They should be willing to face the other edge of the sword.

Once again, the dollar amount saved is not much, but the personal sacrifice does them credit. It's a new reality employees in private business are facing, and there is no reason public employees should get a free ride.



Copyright 2009 Sammamish Review, Sammamish, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2009 Sammamish Review Sammamish, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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