Bob Freeman's Rant on Trustee Raises

Bob keeps ranting about Fred and Sandy Barkes' raises since 2003, so I decided to do a little investigating into the matter (since I know Bob will not).  Bob wrote on columbuzz "...very few are saying anything about the ridiculous raises the Columbus Township Trustee has been giving himself and his wife."  Obviously Bob doesn't understand the trustee budget process.  Here's the actual process from the trustee himself:

• The Trustee suggests a budget and meets with the Township Board (3 elected every 4 years) 1-3 times (more if needed) to agree on a budget.

• That budget then goes to the County Council for County approval.

• Then there are 2 public meetings before it gets final approval by the Township Board.

• It then goes back to the County and on to the Dept. of Local Gov. Finance.

• After the DLGF determines the monies they feel we will receive, we will receive the final approved budget.

• The Trustee then executes the final budget.

So the trustee can't just give himself and his wife raises.  There are checks and balances in the system.

Plus, Bob keeps repeating the same numbers over and over:  Fred Barkes' salary has increased 40% since 2003 and his wife Sandy's 52%.  On the surface, these percentages sound high, but when you analyze the numbers, which I'm about to do, you will see a much different story.  By the way, Bob claimed these percentages averaged out to 6% and 7% per year but the actual averages are 5% and 6%.  I'm sure it was just a math error, not a purposeful exaggeration.  Anyway, here is a table of Fred Barkes' raises by year:

YEAR  SALARY   CHANGE  NOTES

2003  $30,925

2004  $32,500  +5.1%   increased hours to full time

2005  $36,500  +12.3%  raise + salary adjustment

2006  $37,700  +3.3%   raise

2007  $40,000  +6.1%   raise

2008  $42,000  +5%     raise

2009  $42,000  0%      no raise

2010  $43,260  +3%     raise

The salary adjustment in 2004 was because of increased hours.  The salary adjustment in 2005 was because it was determined that the trustee was underpaid.  The dollar amount of the salary increase was $4000, $1000 raise and $3000 adjustment.  The method used to determine that the trustee was underpaid was that the County Auditor, County Treasurer, County Assessor, and Township Assessor salaries were compared (all are scheduled to work 40 hours) to calculate an hourly rate and then the rate was multiplied by 35 hours to determine the trustee's salary.  Now, to be fair, salary adjustments such as increased hours, being underpaid, and promotions should be factored out when determining and comparing average raises.  If I factor out the 2004 adjustment ($1575) and the 2005 adjustment ($3000), the total percent increase since 2003 is 22%, an average of 2.8% per year.

Now let's look at Sandy Barkes:

YEAR  SALARY   CHANGE  NOTES

2003  $27,210

2004  $28,200  +3.6%   raise

2005  $29,200  +3.5%   raise

2006  $32,000  +9.6%   raise + promotion

2007  $39,000  +21.9%  raise + promotion

2008  $40,000  +2.6%   raise

2009  $40,000  0%      no raise

2010  $41,200  +3%     raise

The salary adjustments in 2006 and 2007 were because of promotions.  The dollar amount of the 2006 salary increase was $2800, $900 raise and $1900 promotion.  For 2007, it was $7000, $2750 raise and $4250 promotion.  Again, if we factor these out, the total percent increase since 2003 is 24%, an average of 3.1% per year.

So 22% and 24% sound a lot better than 40% and 52%, don't you think?  And why didn't the great investigator Bob Freeman do an analysis on the numbers to get to the truth?  Good question.