The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-11-06
Taxpayers Group Is Opposed To Increases
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base salary schedules, lines of pro- gressicn, and equality among Ike employees doing hEe work under like conditions is admitted. This is o highly technical undertaking reQuir- ing the services Of c trained per~ sonalist if satisfactory results are to be attained. Consideration should be given to such an undertaking by the city. Tn the meantime, the sale aries of such employees aS are ob- viously far out of line, either high or low, should be adjusted when de- partmental budget requests are con- sidered for the next fiscal year.
 To consider another aspect of the problem, 1t is argued that wages of private employees have undergone substantial increases during this period of industrial activity, and that wages and salaries of muni- clpal employees enjoy tenure in with these local changes. There are number of reasons why this con- tentlon is not logical. First and fore most is the fact that most muni- dustrial employees enjoy. For ex- office far svrpassing that which in- dustrial employees enjoy. For ex- ample, a teacher, 0 fireman, or a policeman Is assured continuous employment so long as they perform their duties with fair degree Of satisfaction, and after Q period of years of service they are assured pensions far exceeding those which the average industrial employe can ever hope for.
 In the matter of pensions alone, Waterbury policeman or fireman, upon retirement after twenty-five years of service, is assured an annual income of $l,o5o0o for the remain der of his life. In addition, in case of death either while in service or after retirement, pension ot $525.00 per year is paid to his widow until her death or remarriage, or to his children under age eighteen, or to his dependent parents. The neces- sary premium to buy an insurance policy that would pay comparable benefits would cost the average poe liceman or fireman approximately $750.00 per year. Of this amount, the employe contributes only $42.00 per year, leaving the City's annual con- tribution $7000O. This contribution on the part of the city, is actually additional salary. Considering the matter from a slightly different view point, 1t would require a payment of approximately $l5,00000 today to buy an insurance policy for the average policeman or fireman that will pay benefits comparable to those granted under their pension funds. These factors should be care- fully weighed when the adequacy of policemen's and fremen's salaries is considered. It is obvious that the majority of city employees hold high ly desirable positions offering secur- lty that few other citizens enjoy.
 The argument that Is advanced by some groups of municipal employees that pay increases are justified to help recoup salary donations made during the depression period Is one that should be completely discarded. In the first place, such donations were not excessive and the muni- cipal employees buying power was not reduced below the cost of living changes of that period. Moreover, even If such repayments were justi- fled, the restoration to the employees who made the contributions would be impossible due to retirments, death, and changes of personnel during and since that period. This restoration surely should not apply to municipal employees who were not on the city payroll during the period i932-l939. It would also be illogical to restore back salary con- tributions to such municipal erl- ployeS who, during the time of such donations, entered the city service and were glad to accept work at the reduced salaries. And even if the city undertook to increase salaries at this time to repay employee for their depression cuts, there is no assurance, after the amounts of such cuts are repaid, that the city employees would be willing to revert to their present salary scale, parti- cularly If present industrial activity is still continuing at that time.
 During the depression years, in spite of salary reductions, municipal employees were glad they had em- ployment that offered some assur- ance of permanence while thousands of other employees were idle And when the present boom is over, the municipal employee will again be grateful for that same permanence of employment. When private em. ployment is surging high with in- dustrial activity, municipal employ ment does not look SO attractive to the city employe not nearly so good as it looked when industrial employment was at a low ebb ana private employees were working few hours at a mere subsistence wage, or not working at all
 The adoption of a compensation plan based on the cost of living, along the line of the "St. Paul Plan," is one to which the city of Water bury should eventually give serious consideration This should be made a part of a general reclassification oe municipal employees as recom- mended in a preceding paragraph and should be strictly enforced both for decreases and increases in the cost of living. However, before such a scheme can be successfully un- dertaken, 1t will be necessary that a new order be invoked in the ex- isting compensation plan so as to establish equitable salary rates for like employees, performing like dut. ties, under like conditions. Adoption and strict enforcement of such a plan will eliminate the wild scramble for salary increases every year at budget time, will make possible equitable reductions during depres- sion periods when the cost of living is on a downward trend, and will permit increases when the cost of living has aftalallV inrreagQd