Scranton mayor cuts all city employees pay to min wage.

[powderman]

http://www.yahoo.com/_ylt=Au4o52TMawYRCZwA3w1WbxSbvZx4;_ylc=X3oDMTlvaTYzMjZkBF9TAzIwMjM1MzgwNzUEYQMxMjA3MTAgbmV3cyBibG9nIHBhLiBtaW5pbXVtIHdhZ2UgdARjY29kZQNwemJ1ZmNhaDUEY3BvcwM0NARlZAMxBGcDaWQtMjQxNTM1MgRpbnRsA3VzBGl0YwMwBGx0eHQDQ2l0eW1ha2VzcmFkaWNhbHBheWN1dARtY29kZQNwemJ1YWxsY2FoNQRtcG9zAzEEcGtndAMxBHBrZ3YDMTUEcG9zAzAEc2VjA3RkLWZlYQRzbGsDdGh1bWJsaW5rBHRhcgNodHRwOi8vbmV3cy55YWhvby5jb20vYmxvZ3MvbG9va291dC9zY3JhbnRvbi1taW5pbXVtLXdhZ2UtY2l0eS1wb2xpY2UtZmlyZW1lbi0xNDAyMjkwNjMuaHRtbAR0ZXN0AzcwMQ--/SIG=13gh6oibq/EXP=1342035636/**http%3A//news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/scranton-minimum-wage-city-police-firemen-140229063.html
 
 
  Scranton mayor slashes pay for all city workers—including police and firefighters—to minimum wage     By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo! News | The Lookout – 5 hrs agoDoherty (AP)     Cash-strapped Scranton, Pa., has slashed pay for all city employees—including police and firefighters—to minimum wage, sparking furor among unions that now say they plan to sue in federal court.
A lawyer representing three unions told Scranton's Times-Tribune he will file several motions, including one to hold Mayor Chris Doherty in contempt of court for violating a judge's order to pay full wages.
The lawyer, Thomas Jennings, said he also expects to file a pair federal lawsuits on behalf of the unions—International Association of Firefighters Local 60, the Fraternal Order of Police E.B. Jermyn Lodge 2 and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 2305—alleging the city failed to pay proper wages and overtime, and cut benefits for disabled police and firefighters without a proper hearing.
"Pick a law," Jennings told the Times-Tribune. "They violated it."
Last week, Doherty abruptly cut pay for all 398 city employees to $7.25 per hour, saying it was the only way to keep Scranton solvent.
According to the paper, Scranton—which faces a $16.8 million budget deficit—had $133,000 in cash on hand as of Monday, but owed $3.4 million in various vendor bills, including health insurance.
Roger Leonard, a city employee, told NPR he typically gets a $900 check for two weeks of work. On Friday, it was $340.
"I have two children and a wife, and my wife is a stay-at-home mom,"  Leonard told NPR. "If the savings gets drained, we won't be OK."
The mayor, meanwhile, blamed the City Council for Scranton's financial woes.
"If they'd gone with my budget, we wouldn't be having this discussion," Doherty said. "The taxes would have been raised. The bills all would have been paid because we would have had a dedicated revenue stream."

[Cuts Crooked]

Lessee here....... 16.8 million deficit, 3.4 million in bills due now, 133,000 on hand......."you wanna take a pay cut, or just lose your job altogether?"

[Conan The Librarian]

This is the pattern. They see a problem coming a long time in advance. Then wait until they have to do something like this. That is not "government" in the sense that it governs the resources of the city. It would be like having a governor on an engine that lets the engine rev until it blows up. What's the point?

[Graybeard]

So what is the Mayor's new salary? Is he too taking the same salary as everyone else? If not why not.

I just saw a story on the news tonight but failed to pay close attention to where it was. The head guy in the story was cutting everyone's salary by 19% or wanting to and was asking for $1.3 million extra for his office. Yup sounds fair to me.

[Swampman]

The best thing to do is fire the mayor and the city council.  They are just in the way of getting things done.

[gypsyman]

Go along with Greybeard on this one. Now, it's the head politician taking lessons from CEO's. Lets cut the workers pay, and expect a bonus for doing it. Always wondered why the garbage men,police and fire dept.'s get cut, but the administrators and secretary's don't. And usually all they do is paperwork. Their not filling potholes, fixing waterlines, fighting crime or fires, and they're the last ones to take a cut or get the axe. gypsyman

[powderman]

Go along with Greybeard on this one. Now, it's the head politician taking lessons from CEO's. Lets cut the workers pay, and expect a bonus for doing it. Always wondered why the garbage men,police and fire dept.'s get cut, but the administrators and secretary's don't. And usually all they do is paperwork. Their not filling potholes, fixing waterlines, fighting crime or fires, and they're the last ones to take a cut or get the axe. gypsyman

 
YEP, cuts should start at the top. POWDERMAN. 

[magooch]

The news said the Mayor was included in the pay cut.  The Scranton solution should apply to all similar situations--starting with the federal guvmint.

[Conan The Librarian]

He's a democrat:
 
"You have an all Democratic council and you have a Democratic mayor," says Sam Vitris, president of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 2305. "It's not Republican versus Democrat. This is Scranton City Council versus the mayor."
 
http://www.wbur.org/npr/156509668/scranton-workers-see-pay-slashed-to-minimum-wage
 
This is just another example of a town that got used to spending more than it earned and is now broke because they would not acknowledge the obvious facts that have been building for decades.
 
They could just start firing people, so I don't know what the griping is about from the unions. They are promising to give back pay. It looks like they will now simply have to cut jobs because towns like that in the declining regions of the country can raise all the taxes they want, but not get any more money than they now get.