The decision by Mayor John Hickenlooper’s Cabinet to forgo any pay raise in 2009 makes good sense.
It sends the right message in a down economy to those city employees who may see bonuses tightened or raises reduced from freshly negotiated labor contracts.
Cabinet members won hefty raises in 2008, and they got them just as the economy began its collapse, leading to understandable grumbling among the ranks.
The mayor’s top appointees got tens of thousands more, for an average 4.55 percent increase.
But now the city faces a projected $56 million budget deficit, and the mayor is asking police officers, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies to take pay cuts of 2 percent less than their negotiated contracts.
The contract calls for a 4.75 percent wage hike for police officers in 2009, a 4.5 percent increase for sheriff’s deputies and a 4 percent jump for firefighters, according to reports by Post reporter Christopher N. Osher.
Meanwhile, the remaining city employees could see their merit pay limited to a 2.25 percent increase. That’s what the Cabinet members are opting to skip during these hard times.
Even though it’s just a drop in the bucket when it comes to a $56 million deficit, their united decision demonstrates good judgment and leadership.
The move saves no more than $36,000, but the example suggests the Cabinet members respect their employees, and we applaud the token sacrifice.
