Raises all around

In her Sunday editorial, Chris Bailey slammed the council's decision to issue across the board pay hikes:

But no, governments must buy their employees’ affections, apparently. Though it guarantees no pay will ever be enough, they must assure pay catches up with salaries in surrounding communities. So said Councilman Bob Gilliam as the city council handed City Manager Femi Folarin an 8.8-percent raise last week. That action came just a couple of weeks after it doubled its own pay and just weeks before it will give raises to Service Employees International Union workers. A raise for all non-union employees will follow a study that will undoubtedly show how underpaid they all are compared to somebody else. (Elgin Daily Herald 7/30/06)

Expanding salaries and expanding headcount. Oh lovely.