The Denver Post editorial board once again rips into the Wild West that is Jefferson County government:
A pool of bonus money without strict rules on how to award it sounds to us like a slush fund. Jeffco ought to take a cue from Denver, which awards bonuses and merit pay for initiatives with specific and measurable goals – projects the mayor approves ahead of time.
Jeffco officials say they use the term “bonus pay” as a catch-all. It could include compensation for taking on additional duties or a one- time lump sum. Nomenclature aside, as we mentioned before, this country has been in a recession since December 2007. No matter what you call such adjustments, they’re tough to justify in this environment.
And the county has been aware of issues with the bonus pay system. In 2005, Jeffco hired a firm to do a compensation study – a task the company failed to complete. For the record, the county did not pay the firm a dime. Another firm was hired, and a new study is in under way.
At the end of 2006, then-treasurer Paschall allegedly offered a $25,000 bonus to a top aide with the promise that she split the post-tax proceeds with him. Two juries deadlocked on a charge of compensation for past official behavior and prosecutors declined to try Paschall a third time. At the time, officials said they were considering bonus policy changes.
We hope the county follows through this time and puts into place a unified and justifiable system. In the meantime, it might help if officials turned off the cash spigot.
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I opposed the current bonus system two years ago, but was over-ruled by fellow commissioners. Perhaps this year, with one new commissioner, we will develop a better system.
See my blog, jeffcocommish.blogspot.com, for a longer discussion of bonuses
Hartman, Griffin, McCasky…none of them have any experience in business, especially big business. I bet you they will not stop this practice of “bonus” to their friends on the 5th floor of course leaving out the “little” Jeffco employees.
There have been studies done already in Jeffco that prove the salaries paid to the Jeffco employees are equal to that of the private sector.
There are enough good people out of work, today and for the next years, that would be willing and more than able to take the place of any of these Jeffco employees that want to quit due to “No Bonus”.
Vote all of these Commissioners out in their next respective elections and get new Commissioners in and if they do not do the job vote them out. New Commissioners may eventually get the idea and do a good job.
But even so – why should business experience be a qualification for anything these days? We shouldn’t be “running government like a business” – hell, business shouldn’t be running like a business the way things are going.
Hartman has not business experience…a non-profit is not a business. Especially a non-profit with only a 200K budget. Hartman is way over her head. Just because she is a democrat Jeffo Pols would say she is “God Send” just like they do Obama!