No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
Amendment XXVII to the United States constitution.
Even members of congress seemed to have known that giving themselves a pay raise was wrong.
City council is going to put the question of their potential pay raise to the voters.
This will be a chance for you to tell them what you think.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
They SHOULD get paid whatever the average is, per person, per El Paso citizen, living and working here.
(When they help bring the average UP, then they will get a pay raise.)
I dont know if that is more or less than they are receiving NOW.
But they should get paid the AVERAGE of us all.
No more.
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Would that average include all those millionaires and billionaires income also? Could be a problem, eh?
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If it was to be based on an “Average income”, I’m sure the politicians would insist that the idle rich of El Paso should be included. Because if all the Federal Employees, upper grade Military, Doctors, Lawyers, were taken out of the “Average”, the “Average” annual income in El Paso would be about $22,000 or so. But then of course, THEY never base Property “Values”, tax increases on the “Average El Pasoan”. Apparently Average “Property “Values” , average “Pay” is based upon the MILLION$$$ homes and the salaries of Doctors, Lawyers, Federal employees. How much would THEY want to INCREASE OUR taxes to give THEMSELVES a pay INCREASE??
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What? You-all dont have Google?
El Paso County, Texas
U.S. Census Bureau: QUOTE: “Per capita income in past 12 months (in 2016 dollars), 2012-2016 $19,145 ”
Sperling’s Best Places: QUOTE: ” The average income of a El Paso resident is $20,050 a year. The US average is $28,555 a year. ”
(190,000 other search results not included on this post.)
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My post above. . . .
That’s the AVERAGE, including the doctors, lawyers, and millionaires and billionaires.
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One of the stations reported that $45K was the average for a family of 7. Yes 7.
That’s the point they are already making more than an average El Pasoan.
Furthermore the job is part time.
They have 4 meetings a month every other week.
At most these people are working 2 weeks a month and those are not 40 hour weeks.
Remember the week Mayor was negotiating the CA severance not a single representative was in or reachable that week.
In short they are way overpaid for the limited time and “effort” they expend
They need to live within their means like everybody else.
If Cassandra Hernandez quit a job that paid more for a temporary job that paid less knowing that she had 2 children to support then that just makes her an irresponsible parent and quite frankly stupid.
BTW her EX pays a lot in support, she is by no means hurting for money.
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Absolutely agree. THEY increase OUR taxes. Anybody give US extra money to pay their TAXES? “Uh boss, the uh City of El Taxo just increased my TAXES again. I’m going to need MORE money from you”. For what THEY do to US, what very little THEY do FOR US, WE are going to REWARD them?? THEY do for BIG business, tax cuts, financing. THEY do for the RICH, who put campaign “Donations” in back pockets, unmarked envelopes. THEY buy stupid things like trolley cars, rotating lights on the Interstate, splash pools, bicycle trails, etc,etc. But THEY don’t clean up the city except for THEIR ball field, downtown Bar area. THEY don’t put Police on the streets, fix streets, traffic lane striping, etc. What exactly is it that THEY do for US that WE should GIVE them more money??
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They need the raise to pay the extra taxes they have hoisted on everyone. VOTE NO!!
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Normally when a “Worker” considers asking the BOSS for a pay raise, they have a “Plan” before going in. They make notes, mental, otherwise. “I saved the company a lot of money on this…………the boss said I did an excellent job on getting the Contract…………the boss calls me when others, can’t, don’t want to do a job……I’m the first in, the last to leave….”. When the Mayor, City Council “Comes In” to ask US (The BOSS). for a pay raise, what have THEY done for US, the CITY??. THEY increase OUR taxes, give tax BREAKS to big business, the idle RICH…….THEY FORCE taxpayers to FINANCE businesses for the idle RICH……………And think up ways to build, create more “Venues” that THEY, the idle RICH want…….and want US to pay for. THEY never tell US the TRUTH about how much anything cost, how it will be PAID for……….EVERYING always cost MORE, takes LONGER than THEY tell US and ALWAYS with added cost, cost “Overruns” THEY don’t HIRE, PAY, put Police on the streets. Waste too much on “STUFF” THEY want………… Trolley’s, really?? .THEIR baseball field is in the “Hole”, cost US MILLIONS$$. more every year. The “Company”, City of El Paso is BILLIONS$$$ in debt. THEY lie, deny, deceive, hide from US. Just GIVE THEM more pay, because……………….??
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They ain’t in it for the salary. Please trust me on this.
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Just vote NO !!!
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Leaving the salary where it is means most of us can never run for city council. I would be a better a city council member than any of those people, except that I’d be distracted by my current job. I’d be too busy to be good at either job. I couldn’t quit my current job or I’d be evicted from my apartment because $29,000 a year wouldn’t pay all my bills and debts. So I’m voting to give them a raise, not because I think the current council deserves a raise, but so that I can run for council in the future and try to fix El Paso’s problems that are being caused by the current council.
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So all that’s necessary is to GIVE the politicians more money and THEY will REPRESENT US better? THEY will stop lying,, hiding, deceiving US. Stop WASTING our money, stop increasing, fabricating, inflating OUR Property “Values”, TAXES? THEY will stop financing the idle RICH, big business here and forcing US to pay for whatever they want? STOP being arrogant, disrespectful, condescending to people who dare to request to SPEAK at City Council. “You are out of time, stupid, ignorant peon, sit down”. What a novel idea. Give POLITICIANS more money and THEY will do the job THEY were hired to do? Maybe? Maybe if the city PAID Police Officers to do the JOB, more people would apply to work here? Maybe they would get the urge to put Police on the STREETS in El Paso. Maybe IF THEY didn’t waste so much money on THEIR “STUFF”..
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no they probably won’t. that’s not the point. do you want to ever to be on city council? do you want poor people or middle class people to have a chance of being on city council and it being somewhat unlikely that they’ll take bribes?
obviously the current group on the council, and several preceding groups, were all assholes. being rich makes it easier to get away with being an asshole. being an asshole makes it more likely you’ll take bribes. if we keep the city council salary low we are ensuring that our city will continue to be governed by assholes, either rich assholes or assholes who take bribes (or probably both).
is this necessarily going to solve all our problems? or even a handful of our problems. no. but we are somewhat less likely to get new problems, and somehwat more likely to get rid of old problems.
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