Tag: Steve Benjamin

Gaming the City of Columbia Budget

Gaming the City of Columbia Budget

One look at the Columbia city budget deliberations tells you it’s an election year in the city.

Council recently pledged a two percent, across the board pay raise for all city employees in next year’s budget and even more for fire and police.

The firefighters received a 3.3 percent pay raise retroactive to January 1, 2013. Approximately 400 police officers and seventy 911 dispatchers will receive an additional 3.3 percent mid-year pay raise in January 2014.

History proves there is no better way to get city employees on the side of incumbent council members than to give them a pay raise in an election year.