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YouTube$508,000 In Salary Expense For A Department Of Four
Abel Harding
This past weekend, David Hunt of the Florida Times-Union wrote an article about the groundbreaking of a $2.8 million project that would bring a poor Northside community onto the city's sewer system. The project, which was funded by federal and St. Johns River Water Management District grants, is being overseen by Jacksonville's Water and Sewer Expansion Authority.
JaxPoliticsOnline.com looked at the Water and Sewer Expansion Authority several weeks ago, questioning whether or not their department was duplicating services that JEA already (or could easily) provide. We asked those questions because of the controversy that arose at a recent WSEA Board Meeting where the board voted to grant across-the-board raises to WSEA's employees, despite the concerns of several board members that raises would not look good in a time of "belt tightening" around the city.
The WSEA was created in 2003 to allow voluntary connections to the city's sewer system. In a 2005 interview with the Times-Union, Sherry Hall, the former communications director for the WSEA, said that, under the system, residents could borrow from WSEA's original $5 million seed to pay for construction to bring water and sewer services into their neighborhoods. The loans would be made at market interest rates and could be paid back over a 30-year period. The expansion authority would also contribute up to 30 percent of that cost. That 30 percent; however, was a one-time offer. Those who did not accept the city aid at the time, do not have the option of later participating. They would have to pay the same amount as their neighbors without the 30 percent contribution or the loan option.
In addition to the costs to bring the water and/or sewer lines to the neighborhood, the city estimates that current costs are between $3,500 and $15,000 per household to flush, empty and remove a septic tank, then connect to the sewer according to a Times-Union article from earlier this year,
The Executive Director of the WSEA has seen his compensation nearly double since he was hired in 2004. His original salary was covered by JEA, but WSEA now pays him a consultant fee of $315,000. According to recent council auditor's report , the WSEA is now capped at 3 employees (communications director, asst. communications director & GIS specialist). These 3 employees have a current budgeted salary expense of $175,000 plus benefits---this in addition to the consulting contract with WSEA's Executive Director. Because of the raises voted on by WSEA's board, despite the objections of its chair, salary expense for those three employees will rise to $182,000 this year plus benefits and the consulting fee for the Executive Director will rise to $326,000.
The WSEA is proposing to trim its travel budget next year---to $5,000. In previous years, they have budgeted $20,000 for travel. This year's budget was $10,000. Nevertheless, that expense seems to have been rather high for a department that finances sewer hook-ups, particularly when the department has only 3 staff members plus a consultant.
The question for the City Council to answer as the WSEA prepares to present its proposed budget to the Council, is why couldn't JEA be doing the same thing?
