Compounding the problem is the lack of restraint by the council itself. He said the increase wasn't in the budget and wasn't fair to other departments. Other councilmen echoed the same thing. The truth is, there is no objective, overall look at the city's pay rates, nor is there objective oversight of the departments. Favortisim is rampant and department heads bicker over pay and work schedules.
Jealousies abound, both among employees and council members.
But the stakes are higher now. These internal battles are distracting the council from doing its real job of policy-making and planning for the future in an era of rapid growth. That may surprise some people because from the outside, Jefferson appears to be doing well with a lot of growth and development. But that surface prosperity has masked these internal problems of city administration. To its credit, the council has moved toward a professional manager government.