"The arbitrary salary cap, which does not exist in most other states makes it difficult for Minnesota to attract candidates from other areas of the country where salaries are MUCH higher. While I agree that salary alone does not insure top performance, the cap does endure that the pool of qualified candidates we attract is smaller than it would be otherwise."
My response:
As an Employment Administrator for a national non-profit organization, and someone who has been in the exempt and non-exempt recruitment field since the early '90's, I can tell you from first hand experience that the only part of Ms. Berget's statement that rings true is that salary does not insure top performance. Often I have found that those individuals truly passionate and committed to their careers rank money lower on the ol' job happiness scale. Money is fleeting, and study after study shows that throwing money at salaries just to pacify someone unhappy in their profession only means that you are only prolonging the inevitable. Eventually they will attempt to hold you financially hostage by threatening to walk.
I for one am tired of school superintendants and others crying how hard it is to live on six figure salaries, or how other cities offer much more financially. To that mentality, I offer the following:
1. Look around. This is Minneapolis. This isn't New York, Chicago, LA, or even Raleigh/Durham. Granted, our cost of living is higher than many other mid-size cities, but we still are more affordable than Seattle, Detroit, Boston, D.C. and Atlanta. We have no sales tax on clothing and most food, an average sales tax on other goods, and we have some of the top wages in the nation.
2. The economy has changed. Thousands of highly qualified people are looking for work. One ad produces more responses than I can handle. You mean that in such an atmosphere taxpayers should be digging into their pockets and offering up more money as a begging bribe? Maybe as a signing bonus if they agree to a multi-year, ironclad contract that forgoes salary increases for first couple of years.
Bottom line -- if such job seekers, or current job holders, don't like what the public can afford at this time (or what the public is willing to provide until tangible positive results are produced), then I have a message for them:
Don't let the door bang you on your rear on your way out.
Alan Hooker
Victory Neighborhood
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [Mpls] Pay cap affects candidate pool Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 10:34:07 -0400
I don't defend or criticize the Library Board's situation, but I want to point out that this is a significant issue for other jurisdictions as well. , This is not necessarily a good thing. The cap also provides a powerful incentive for jurisdictions to seek devious but legal ways to enhance the non-competitive salaries they offer through perks that can strike the citizenry as more noxious than a higher salary might be.
This has been a significant issue in the selection of school superintendents for a long time. It doesn't surprise me that it's come up in the Library search.
Ann Berget
Kingfield
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