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That's the thing, she didn't exceed expectations, this is exactly why we hired her and made her the highest paid city manager in the country.
This is all pretty much standard operating procedure when someone gets hired and moves to a new city for a job. I got almost half of that amount to move from SA to Austin and I have no kids/family and make nowhere near 295K a year.
Everyone needs to stop hating...she has done good for SA and she deserves a raise. I'm sure that you would feel the same way if you had exceeded expectations at your workplace.
That's the thing, she didn't exceed expectations, this is exactly why we hired her and made her the highest paid city manager in the country.
Do you know the EXACT goals that were set for her when she was hired? Perhaps it was...
1. Obtain an AAA credit rating for the city by 2010.
2. Complete 25% of the 2007 bond before 2008.
We're losing money too!
We lost AT&T, Bio Lab, Final four, plus now the money that she suposibly saved us is goin back cuz CPS is srewin us & double billin us!!! THANKS SCULLEY!!!
You can't just compare her to other city manager and say she gets paid more. For one, find me another city the size of San Antonio that has the council manager system of government. You do NOT want a bad city manager in that position.
puro San Antonio all the way around. Sometimes I just have to shake my head in amazement about my hometown.
People that don't understand credit and how vital it is for the City... puro San Antonio.
People that constantly complain about city waste and mismanagement but then don't recognize the monumental accomplishment of restructuring a beaurocracy...puro San Antonio.
A tone-deaf decision to deal with this now when economic anxiety is so high... puro San Antonio.
A City Manager who already went through the ringer when she was hired not having the common sense / decency to immediately insist on putting this off for a while... puro San Antonio.
Jesus Christ.
Its ridiculous to expect her to put this off, to be honest. She can make a lot more money elsewhere - even in this economic climate.
it's in her contract that she will get paid in full, wheather she voluntarily steps down or is let go!!! So saying she can make more else where would make sense because she'll still receive a check (a huge 1!) from... puro San Antonio!
Manny, I've given this a lot of thought, and I have to respectfully disagree - to an extent. It's not ridiculous to expect her to put this off. I'm not saying she doesn't deserve the raise. To be honest I don't know enough about her performance personally to say one way or the other. But let's say that she does - that she has exceeded expectations for the sake of this discussion.
It doesn't change the fact that being so politically tone-deaf as to insist that it happen RIGHT NOW (which by not squashing this thing she is doing) - in the middle of the worst economic crisis of her lifetime - is just ing stupid. Frankly it comes across as the worst kind of mercenary self-interest at a time where our biggest public villans all share this character trait.
A good city manager has to understand that there are times for blunt force and times for finesse. A San Antonio city manager has to also understand that there is a significant underlying blue-collar resentment of the political establishment here (and given some past examples of corruption is not entirely unjustified) that if riled up into self-righteous indignation can really gum of the works politically and make her job much harder than it has to be.
If she can't recognize that - and is so mercenary as to demand the raise RIGHT THE NOW - she should probably leave. There's more to the job than balancing a budget.
She could have the entire city eating out of her hand right now if she came out and said: "I truly appreciate the vote of confidence the Mayor and Council have given me by looking at adjusting my salary, but I feel that this is not the right time to do so, nor the right example to set as a city employee. Since coming here my family and I have truly grown to love San Antonio, and there is plenty of time in the next year to address this if the council feels it is still deserved once the economy has stabilized."
Given what she already makes, the monetary sacrifice this would entail would absolutely pale in comparison to the political capital she would gain; which would allow her to be even more effective at her job - and make an even bigger salary adjustment in the future more likely and less controversial.
For me, all things considered, I guess it is more about being a poor decision than a question of if she deserves it or not. And I have to honestly question if somebody with poor decision making skills when it comes to feeding public perception in a way that hurts the City's - and more directly her own - ability to govern efficiently should be one of the most powerful city managers in America. Isn't this a fair point to consider?
Last edited by Mark in Austin; 12-14-2008 at 02:42 PM.
Mark, I hate to dissect your post into this one paragraph but the fact of the matter is that everything else you said relies on this being the case I don't necessarily believe it is.
The fact of the matter is that San Antonio needs someone in that position who can keep this city's head over water in these times and Scully has proven herself extremely capable of doing just that. When municipalities and states are in the red immensely across this country the fact that we're not speaks volumes. The people don't elect her, she's a hired position within the city government. She does wield an extreme amount of power considering she's not elected, but city manager isn't exactly the type of position political careers are built off of but most definitely one that private sector careers can take off from. Yeah, she'd gain political capital with the people if she did what your suggesting, but honestly maybe 1 out of every 10 people in San Antonio could tell you who she is to begin with. She doesn't NEED that political capital and she already has the mayor and city council eating out of her hand because they all recognize how well she's done.
And really, she could get her raise and then some through the private sector.
The bottom line is whether or not this is the fiscally smart thing to do for San Antonio. The economic feelings matter a lot in that regard, but not necessarily as a negative to her getting a raise. Locking her up now when her skills are needed the most is a smart thing and necessary for this city.
Scully got rewarded for just doing her job.
If you have a good city manager then give her the money. $20K ain't much money to fret about.
Man, that's a lot of breakfast tacos!
This is what us city emplyees are often told:
*that they should accept their low wages out of a sense of "dedication and duty" to the greater cause.
*That being a civil servant is rewarding in itself because you're doing something for the community.
*That this is a low income city and simply can't afford to pay higher wages.
*That the low wages are offset by the 'good' benefits offered (Benefits are pretty good, but they don't put food on the table or pay the mortgage - or pay off the student loans).
*To accept no cost-of-living raise in years until a strike finally occurs, and even then it's minimal.
Most accept all that, for a variety of reasons. But to then have a city manager who wants even more money, during a time of recession, who has only been in her job a few years, just appears greedy on her part. I think it shows how little in touch she is with the city she's representing.
Or how little in touch you are with what city managers of top ten cities are paid.
$20K is pissant, people. Maybe not to you, maybe not to me, but this is the key position in the SA government. The city manager impacts the city (and perception of the city) way more than the mayor, the council, or anyone else.
It is, Cuz shes already makin way to much!!
And she wants more and wants a p/t job away from the city!!? Shes supposed to be managing ours... here for us??!
Our economy is horrible and she wants more!?! a lil selfish!!
Yeah she gets paid to do a job, great!! Then pushes for more!! You can say all you want, that she knew nothing but, we know better!!
She and the damn mayor wanted this deal done before '09!!
Oh well...
Last edited by LakerHater; 12-16-2008 at 07:29 PM.
all i get from laker hater in this thread is that he's butt hurt he doesn't make more
How is Scully responsible for any of those three things you listed?
She isn't so just fail, fail fail on your part.
Plus his spelling and grammar are just horrid not to mention he's coming off quite stupid in the basic general knowledge, so he probably deserves whatever low wage/salary job he currently has.
Watch out, 45 signatures!
She more than exceeded expectations you dolt.
Dude, I cleared a lil' over $94,000 this yr workin for the city!!
Her timing sux, seriously!! She hurts us with the waste pick up also, once a week!! C'mon!
As you can see there are to many issues to cover!! Its no wonder they don't let us or the media in on city council meetings anymore!!! It's supposed to be Wednesday for the public to be heard or something like that( I haven't been in awile, I forgot what they call it!)!!
Whatever Scully gets I feel that just to be fair, Mulder should the same if not more. They worked as a team & should get rewarded as one as well.
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