This will be a short post because we are literally speechless.
Our county commissioners giving themselves a 42% raise was wrong on many counts.
The county hired a firm to evaluate the wages of all county workers.
These people put themselves before the rank and file and gave themselves pay raises and did nothing for the workers.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Everyone, contact your commissioner and tell him this stinks.
So the consultant the commissioners hired told them their salaries are way below the rest of Texas. In what way is this a surprise? No one needs a consultant to figure that out. The jobs I’ve held in El Paso are way below comparable positions in the state. I gathered my data, went to my bosses and asked for a raise. They stared at me and smirked. Doesn’t matter what the rest of the state gets, they say. This is El Paso and you get what El Paso pays. The big difference in my situation and the commissioners’ is that they can vote themselves a raise and I couldn’t. My choices are: take what your bosses give you or move to another city.
Contact your commissioner and tell him, “I know you say you’re doing this for the sake of your constituents, Thanks, but we don’t need the favor. We’ll get no better representation at $90,000/yr than at $62,000, which is already too high, considering this and other recent votes. Government representatives are supposed to serve the people, not the other way around. Government representatives are supposed to give their time and energy for the common good. They get paid but are not supposed to be paid so much more than the average citizen. We do not want career politicians. Your vote to increase your pay by a huge percentage paves the way for a permanent career politician path in El Paso. This is outrageous and takes advantage of one of the poorest counties in the nation. I urge you to change your vote.”
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Ditto. I have already emailed my commissioner. Please call (leave message) or email. This is important.
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In some cases, electeds vote on raises but agree that they won’t be implemented until the next term. In this case, they would be voting on a raise for a future office holder, not themselves.
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Chico
Believe this goes into effect October 1 2016.
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Don’t think so. Regardless, a 42% increase is ludicrous.
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They have staggered terms. Escobar and two of the commissioners will get raises next year. The other two are up for re-election in the fall. Not sure if they have any challengers. The slate just about set because the primaries have been held. Don’t vote for incumbents.
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Why is it that people have such a problem with elected officials earning a decent salary for the level of their responsibilities? It does not bother them that people in the private sector such as CEO’s, etc. are robbing us all blind (millions and millions that they not deserve while their employees struggle with minimum wage), but take some guy who has responsibility for the community in which we live, and they get all hot and bothered. Ridiculous.
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Natly, perhaps one reason some of us have a problem with elected officials being paid so damn much is that few of them ever actually “earn” their salary. Beyond that, there used to be a concept known as public service, and that more than justifies a lower salary level for what should be part time work. Don’t believe them when they try to justify their “jobs” as requiring more of their time, and don’t forget that most of them spend more time campaigning for their next election than they do actually working for you and me. Of course we are bothered by the huge discrepancy between what CEOs and other workers make, but we have little power with corporate America.
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Lol, never heard the statement “this is El Paso so we won’t pay what you were paid in ________”. Never mind education, experience, etc.
“Forced to take pay raise”. Let’s see if they implement the clause that states raises can be “refused”. If merited, 2-3 % increase. But 46 % at one time ? !!! Take a good look at all the failures and mess the ccc has created. In the private sector they would fired. They still have done nothing about the voluntarily confession about federal fraud or using ccc time and resources to interfere with city policy development and ridicule a city rep.
This is just wrong !!
Can you point to another person in another area and get that salary ! Of course not. COLA and economy is different. More people will “run for office” ? People seek political office to serve not because of the pay !
It’s a done regardless of the public outrage.
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Those CEO’s in the private sector get their money from the profits of their company; they aren’t directly “robbing us blind,
” but they might not be paying their fair share of taxes thanks to various perks, tax breaks, and loopholes they get away with. These commissioners get their money from our taxes and when they can increase our taxes on the one hand and vote themselves a hefty salary raise out of the taxes we pay, that is a much more direct form of robbing us blind and we have every reason to object. .
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If I had a dime for every time one of Escobar and one of her bozos used the words “public service” to try to make themselves look good, I could personally fund their salary increases. If they didn’t like the salary level, they should not have run for office.
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These are NOT CEOs. They don’t manage people or budgets. They’re representatives of the people. The set policy in accordance to the wishes of their constituents.
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Other than approving the budget, what responsibilities are those? Now that there is a county manager they have fewer responsibilities than ever. They don’t even have to work full-time if they choose not to. People in the private sector who receive large salaries are typically very well qualified. The voters can and do elect unqualified individuals who would not make that kind of money in the private sector. Do you think most of the commissioners could walk out of elected office and into a $90 job? Get real.
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$90 K
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