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In Our View: Public-Sector Work Can Pay

While private-sector comparisons tricky, it's wise to monitor taxpayer-funded jobs

The Columbian
Published: July 8, 2015, 12:00am

Amid the vast amount of data included in a recent report from The Columbian about public-sector salaries, the bottom line regarding the bottom line might be this: A majority of public employees are better off than their counterparts in the private sector.

That fact was highlighted by a 2012 report from the Congressional Budget Office, which examined federal employee compensation (salaries and benefits) based upon education levels. The findings:

• Public employees with a high school diploma or less earned an average of 36 percent more than their private-sector peers.

• Those with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of 16 percent more than private-sector peers.

• And those with a professional or doctorate degree earned an average of 18 percent less than private-sector peers.

To summarize, those at the top — say, doctors or lawyers who work for the government — are making less than their private-sector counterparts, a fact that often is repeated by those in the position of defending government salaries. But the majority of government workers — the average Joes and Janes who could more easily be replaced — are much better off than those with similar nongovernment jobs. This is important for the necessary discussion about public employee compensation at all levels of government. As with any chief financial officer or board of directors, it is essential for taxpayers to occasionally take a close look at how much they are paying their employees. After all, we are the bosses.

Because of that, The Columbian examined salaries for employees with Clark County and the city of Vancouver, finding that firefighters and police dominated the list of the best-paid public servants in the area. Much of that is due to copious overtime compensation, which is the Catch-22 of a round-the-clock profession. As Vancouver Fire Chief Joe Molina explained: “That call at 2 in the morning when somebody needs us — in an average of five minutes, a fire engine pulls up with three highly trained individuals ready to take care of your heart attack. … That doesn’t happen by accident.”

Taxpayers certainly would agree that safety is paramount. But maybe — just maybe — if the fire engine pulled up with two highly trained individuals instead of three, we could be safe and save some valuable tax dollars. Still, paying for public safety is the price of a well-functioning community, and officials suggest that hiring and training additional personnel is more expensive than incurring overtime costs. Budget writers and department heads should periodically assess the most economically efficient way to provide services, but paying for overtime work often is, indeed, more sensible than adding positions.

That said, discussion will continue about compensation for public employees — as it should. And that brings us back to comparisons with the private sector. For years, government employees have noted that generous benefits and pension packages were designed to make up for salaries that were below par. But that paradigm has shifted. A report last month from the Bureau of Labor Statistics pegged the national average of total compensation (salaries and benefits) for private industry workers at $31.65 per hour worked, while for state and local government workers the average was $44.25.

Government employees often are sensitive about such comparisons and are weary of what they consider attacks upon their salaries. But such informed comparisons are necessary; taxpayers, after all, are the bosses.

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