By: Diane Benjamin
Both of the pics below are from Normal’s current budget: https://www.normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/18611/Town-of-Normal-Budget-2021-26
PDF page 92
PDF page 375:
Want to know what the
December 2020 to December 2021
Consumer Price Index is for all Urban Consumers?
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.t01.htm
7%
So, while inflation is destroying your household budget, every employee of Normal except Police and Fire will be just fine.
The Town of Normal used to have the Council vote on COLA increases, now it is buried in the budget because it looks bad that government employees are entitled to increases normal people aren’t. Not only will Town employees be fine, you get to pay for their COLA.
IMRF contribution rates show why the Police and Fire pensions are underfunded and IMRF (Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund) isn’t.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
When will Government discontinue COLAs, like private sector has?
About the time pensions are fixed. Never.
The first rule of government is self preservation. The council hasn’t had the spine to say no to any of staffs’ other requests. I don’t see them restricting the flow to the town gravy train now. Staff will get their 7% COLA and their 2.5% merit increase. This means Pam Reece, who currently gets paid $264,617, will get a $24,188 raise. She will be at $289k by year end. She is so out of touch with having to live within her means that she can’t relate to the average taxpayer.
I don’t know if cola applies to her. It would have to be in her contract.
So an employee who’s been there 19 yrs that is at the top of his pay scale 40 years old with two kids and a wife doesn’t deserve a raise even though cost of living is going up 7 % . So there expected to work to retirement with no more raises. Thanks for your opinion and carrying about your fellow man and the people who keep take care of the town for you. Sincerely your friendly garbage man.
Sure, but are shouldn’t want to live way above the serfs paying you.
In private sector, raises are low to none and most of it it stripped and taken by increasing costs, taxes, property tax increases, federal and state tax burdens and these are families with children and in long time jobs too. Thank you to the public service folks who work hard. Unfortunately the county and cities have become procedural and systematic theives of taxes and funny budget money flows for too long. Time for a revamp.