Howdy Folks,
Just getting back to Mpls issues today and I wanted to respond to some reactions to my post regarding Gary Schiff's criticism of Mayor Rybak's staff salary decisions. David Brauer defends Gary's abstention:
I have to defend him against list criticism about
abstaining on the 2001 pay-raise vote. To me, that was exactly the right
thing to do: not vote on what would be setting your own salary. Gary was
only sitting on the council then due to Kathy Thurber's early
resignation.
My view is that regardless of how Gary got on the Council early, that day he was given the opportunity to vote. Should Robert Lilligren have abstained because he was seated early as well? Should all of the returning council members have abstained because they were continuing on for another term? Pretty soon we're looking at an abstention pile-up on a closely watched issue. The fact is Gary had a vote that day and as I remember he was the only one who abstained when the question was called. Put simply, vote yea or nay and move on to the next issue or wait two weeks and get sworn in with all the other newbies.
Gary responds directly to my post earlier today:
Scott Person's claim that I am inconsistent in
salary votes is befuddling. Along with Joe Biernat,
I did NOT vote to raise the council member salary at
a time when the city faces staggering budget problems.
I never claimed Gary voted for or against the council member pay raise, Councilmember Schiff chose to not vote at all on the question. When it comes to other departments the council member is fire and brimstone but when it comes to a vote on his own salary he abstains like a church mouse. It's just a bit too convenient to take a pass on your own paycheck and then a month later rail on the mayor's salary allocations. I assume Joe Biernat actually voted against raising his own pay rather than abstaining (I am open to correction on Councilmember Biernat's vote, if he abstained as well than I apologize for not including him on my Friday post for being disingenuous on the salary issue).
As to the issue of council member's salaries, I don't have a problem with a pay raise. My point was solely focused on what I believe are inconsistencies between the abstention and criticizing mayoral salary decisions, the two just don't square.
Scott Persons
Lyndale Neighborhood
Ward 8
