Today’s Press reports that Tony Berns will get a 3% raise because, the LCDC board said, “We all agree that Tony Berns has done an excellent job…”
Tony Berns is the Exec. Director of the LCDC, our town’s urban renewal agency. Tony already makes more than $120,000 base salary, not counting his golden benefits and a fat retirement package of almost $20,000 per year. But poor Tony has not had a raise in the last two years!…oh, unless you consider the 3% raises in his retirement package each year a raise, which of course they were.
This morning’s Press buried the story on page 6, but at least they created a side section highlighting Tony’s raise, though that section does not appear in the Press online.
What was the rationale of the LCDC board? That Tony deserves a raise this year since, they said, according to the Press, that Tony didn’t get a raise the past two years because “the timing for a raise wouldn’t be appropriate given the economic conditions.” The Press went on to report that “Both years it did increase his 401k package by roughly 3 percent.”
What craziness is this? Tony is paid with TAXPAYER DOLLARS!” Local unemployment is WORSE now than it was last year or the year before. Unemployment is at 12% in the City of CdA, which is higher than the County average and much higher than the state and national average.
Your thoughts?
