Northwest Indiana Discussion

$167,000,000.

bert, i thought that number was about $104,000,000.

The Times quotes the State Board of Accounts and the Dept. of Local Government Finance as Hammond having the highest amount of debt in Lake County at one hundred and sixty seven million dollars. If over the last eight years Hammond has received a conservative estimate of 30 million a year from the casino that would equal $240,000,000. Yet we have $167,000,000 of debt on the books? Imagine our debt if our Mayor didn't have a finance degree.

Top 10 salaries in Hammond:
1.GOLEC, ROBERT: FIRE PENSION -$121,948.92
2.OPINKER, MICHAE:L ELECTED OFFICALS -$107,737.85
3. UNGER, MICHAEL: DISTRICT MANAGER CLASS IV-$107,395.70
4.MILLER, BRIAN: POLICEMAN - $103,442.30
5. MCDERMOTT, THOMAS MAYOR AND OTHER COMP $103,398
6. DOUGHTY, JOHN: POLICEMAN $102,813.71
7. CARDWELL, ROGER: POLICEMAN $100,600.86
8. KRUSA, EDWARD: CHIEF EXECUTIVE $100,312.63
9. SMITH, JEFFERY: FIREMAN -$98,962.61
10. BOJDA, JOHN: FIREMAN $94,641.56


Hmmm.

Well I'm curious: What do you expect these people to be paid? The civil city isnt a monastery. If anything the argument can be advanced that given the cutbacks in personnel being borne by managers and employees, who are now responsible for and of necessity doing more work than before, that these folks are underpaid.

So if we doubled their pay what should we expect?

this aint a mass-production line. government services revolve around providing and managing the administrative services that keep the organization of our society rationally ordered and coherent.

it is not a profit-oriented undertaking. and like anything else, efficiency is relative.

If they feel they are underpaid, why don't they take their skills elsewhere? In case you haven't noticed, despite all the experience and know-how these people supposedly possess, Lake County is a dump. Most of these guys have little more than a high-school diploma and have achieved what they have via who they know rather than what they know. Not that a college degree is a be-all and end-all, but in 2013 your background should be a bit broader than tapping the guys in your old high school backfield or backcourt.

What should they make? The left is always telling the private sector that no one "needs" to make $1 million, $10 million, $100 million per year. I think no elected official "needs" to make more than twice the average household income in their city or county. With Hammond's average household income at $30-$32k per year, no public employee "needs" to make more than $64,000 annually.

I'll try the rationale that "efficiency is relative" line on my boss and customers this week and get back to you on how it was received. What would you expect the level of efficiency to be if the listed pay rates were doubled or halved? Would $200,000,000 of debt somehow show we were more committed to ordered and coherent government?

I had to laugh when I saw the highest "paid" is a pensioner. The pensioner is probably the most productive too! Then, I realized the irony of Thomas McDermott Jr. heading up an apparatus whose aim is to deliver rational order and coherence, and laughed harder! My side started hurting when Neo reminded us that governmnet is not a profit oriented undertaking. Apparently, Lake county dems think otherwise. Judges and juries have to keep telling scores of democrats that government is not a profit-oriented undertaking, by sending them to jail!

That efficiency is relative crap did not go over well

Will Hammond use any of its cut from the COIT to pay down some debt?

If McDermott is still mayor, they'll leverage the future income tax money into a bond offering so that they can spend tomorrows revenues today. Like they've done with property tax revenues, and gambling revenues, and sanitary district revenues... Why would this revenue stream be any different?