Holyoke councilors, mayor debate raise for Treasurer Jon Lumbra

HOLYOKE ? City councilors mostly agree that City Treasurer Jon D. Lumbra excels at his job, but they are split on whether that means he should get a raise from nearly $70,000 a year to $80,000.

The Ordinance Committee Tuesday tabled consideration of the raise proposed by Mayor Alex B. Morse because councilors said they wanted additional information.

Treasurer is an elected position here, and Lumbra is in the third-year of a four-year term. It is his first term.

Morse reiterated points he made when he proposed the raise last month for Lumbra. The increase is needed to compensate the value and extent of Lumbra?s work and make his pay comparable to other cities? treasurers, he said.

Also, he said, Lumbra led the way to the city getting delinquents to pay back taxes totaling $942,703 in the past year and has saved the city millions of dollars by ensuring audits are done on time and by restructuring debt.

?It?s a decision that I had to make to ensure I had a good finance team in place,? Morse said of proposing the raise.

Another point that arose during the meeting was the possibility Lumbra could have another job offer, specifically the treasurer?s job in Westfield.

Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon questioned why that should be an issue since nothing concrete about an offer to Lumbra has emerged.

Lumbra, who wasn?t at the meeting, said later regarding councilors? comments about his offers of other jobs, ?I don?t see why or under what authority they think they are entitled to be informed. My position is on the executive side of the house, not the legislative side.?

He has been asked to consider other jobs ?on five different occasions,? including a run for state representative, he said.

A list of salaries of treasurers of communities of comparable size to Holyoke?s population of nearly 40,000 shows the treasurer?s pay here is at the low end, Morse said: Beverly, $102,861; Westfield, $78,000; Amherst, $77,000; Pittsfield, $73,380; and Chelsea, $76,552.

Vacon said such a comparison is valid only if other factors are considered like an area?s cost of living and other salaries in a particular municipality.

?I think it?s out of order,? Vacon said of the proposed raise.

Other objections of councilors were that Lumbra knew the salary of the position when he asked residents to vote for him and that while a lot of employees excel, the city can?t afford to give them all raises.

Lumbra?s base pay is $66,682. He gets a $3,000-a-year stipend, on top of the base pay, for work for the Retirement Board. That puts his pay at $69,682.

Also, councilors said, the council previously approved an ordinance to increase the treasurer?s base pay to $70,000 as of January 2014, the beginning of the next term for the treasurer, he said.

Practice has been for the council to approve raises for an elected position and not for an individual who happens to holding that office, to avoid the appearance of favoritism, President Kevin A. Jourdain said.

But others argued the council seemed to have done exactly that in October 2004. The council approved a raise for then-Mayor Michael J. Sullivan. Jourdain argued that the raise for Sullivan was debated and that the increase was staggered over more than a year.

Giving raises to positions and not people is illogical, Councilor at Large Gordon P. Alexander said.

?I have no problem with a mid-term raise. It certainly would happen in the private sector,? Alexander said.

Committee Chairwoman Rebecca Lisi said she agreed on the need to retain good staff.

?This would be a merit-based increase ...,? Lisi said.

Still, Jourdain said, voters voted for the current treasurer knowing the salary.

?He knew how much the job paid when he started. He?s committed to working here for four years,? Jourdain said.

Vacon praised Lumbra ? ?He?s done a very good job? ? but she said taxpayers are in a struggling economy.

?People?s salaries are going down, the people who pay the (municipal) salaries,? Vacon said.

Source: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/09/holyoke_councilors_mayor_debat.html

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