Comments on: Commish Spins AT WILL Job Ordinance

By: Jack

Jack — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 21:08:58 +0000

No, I have been gone too so I will end it.

Why do we keep electing these idiots?

By: Treva

Treva — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 01:46:08 +0000

Huh! Guess this blog has died. Rats. I really liked it.

By: CYCLOPS

CYCLOPS — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 19:57:25 +0000

I wonder if the electorate will ever come to realize that the individual to be concerned with, and in fact feared, is the Administrative Assistant (AA), not the elected office. The AA wields much more power in a congressional,senatorial, or gubernatorial situation than does the officeholder. It is the AA who TELLS the officeholder what his/her position is on a given issue. They also control access to the officeholder. They are not excluded from the use of the “back room” deals that could kill the elected official. No elections, no accountability, no “answering to the voters”. This hired gun is the one we really need to watch.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 14:33:44 +0000

Since this piece has to do with jobs, thought I’d use it to expand the scope — in this case to reference the Associated Press story in a Boise daily newspaper about the big pay cut the Guv got his administrative assistant to take to come back to Idaho from Washington, D.C. A little more investigation would actually have found that the magnanimous $33,000 reduction in salary Jeff Melman was willing to make wasn’t exactly that magnanimous. According to the cost of living calculator on the internet at http://www.cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving, someone making $153,000 annually in the Washington, D.C./Alexandria, VA area (his old salary) would receive comparable compensation in Boise for a salary of $106,560 annually. In other words, Jeff didn’t take a $33,000 reduction in what he has to spend to get by, he actually received a $13,440 increase. (His $120,000 in Boise would equal a salary of $172,296 in his old spot). Getting Jeff to come back to his previous job in the Statehouse must have been a pretty hard sell for Butch.

EDITOR NOTE–Thanks for the update. Good reporting. The GURADIAN is curredntly in Brazil checking out in-fill and growthophobia issues. Any stories from readers are welcome.

By: Try a Little Courtesy

Try a Little Courtesy — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 20:09:14 +0000

The Guardian’s last post of 2006 contained the following statement.

“Based on the anonymous e-mails we get and the number of commenters who don’t use their real names, we can only conclude most people are afraid to speak openly for fear of retaliation from employers, loved ones, or the government.”

It is my observation that the practice of people using fake names to attack the character, rather than the ideas, of people who use their real names (Did I say Snoop?), with The Guardian’s blessing, tends to discourage the use of real names.

Enforcing a consistent, minimal amount of courtesy in posted responses might encourage more people to write, and to use their own names.

EDITOR NOTE–It is a fine line between censoring comments and enforcing civil discourse. We honestly try, but sometimes fail, no doubt.

By: Sisyphus

Sisyphus — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 15:15:16 +0000

For me there is an elephant in the room (slight pun intended)regarding the change of status. Perhaps some of you more knowledgeable folks can help to enlighten me on how this is supposed to operate. As I read in these posts and in the paper this morning there is a change in status that is supposed to take place this spring. Is this automatic with the publication of the new employee handbook? A County employee informs me that the personnel department will circulate a form to all employees accepting the change in status. Is this true?

My understanding is the at will status can’t be changed except by agreement of the contracting parties, it cannot be done unilaterally once there is an employment relationship already in place. I guess if I was asked to sign such a document I would be disinclined to do so without the disclaimer that I don’t accept the change in status. Doing so could not be cause to fire you. At least I wouldn’t want to make that argument to the judge. I haven’t researched so this is just a gut reaction but for existing County employees this might be a legal opinion worth pursuing.

If you didn’t accept the change in status and were later dismissed I would think you would at least have an argument that the unilateral change in status didn’t apply to you. Certainly if enough employees did this together it would put the Commisioners in a tough spot. Any thoughts?

By: Warren

Warren — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 10:37:48 +0000

I agree with Morgan’s assessment of Tillman’s arrogance. From “demanding respect” (which, last time I checked, is earned) to spinning the issue on the radio, he clearly has no “respect” for the people he is supposed to serve (not the other way around, Tillman!) I recently faxed a letter and wrote an e-mail to him without response. I called to verify the receipt of same and received no call back. My guess is that he cares very little about us “joe citizen”. King Tillman is in a class of his own.

By: Ferris B.

Ferris B. — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 05:11:21 +0000

Wow, what great feedback.

First of all, Tam – you have no idea what you are talking about. How do I know that? Because there just isn’t any data presented to back your statement up. On top of that, there are no examples of this in Idaho to back you up, either.

Sharon, I think your post was great. There was a recent Supreme Court Decision about whistleblowing that gives employers a way to punish whistleblowers. Very sad indeed.

This move, as I have said before, is a complete slap in the face to ADA employees. I really do hope employees there look to organizing as a way to work for change.

By: Snoop

Snoop — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 02:13:42 +0000

Once again we are listening to an individual that no one voted for. Ok, maybe her family and friends, but honestly, half of you bitch and moan when the county is not run like a business. Then the other half bitch when it is.

I am a business owner and have found that when you don’t have “at will” employees you get great employees, but you also get poor employees. Take the school system for example. If a teacher stays on long enough, no matter how good they are or are not, cannot be terminated unless God himself takes em’ out. The same is true for the county. There are many great employees working for them, but what about the bad one? Why should they get the raises and bonuses like everyone else? Why should they be allowed to keep on working if they are not working as hard as the others?

I also have a hard time believing Thankyou when they say that public service is not about bottom line thinking. It better well be because it is my money they are spending. I didn’t vote for the county commissioners so they could be nice to all the county employees, I can do that on my own, I elected them to make decisions and spend money wisely. I have always said that government should be run like a business, and in this case they have done just that. Hats off to them Sharon!

By: Joe Moran

Joe Moran — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 20:09:32 +0000

I’m upset by Comm. Tilman’s ( Derr’s)arrogance and spin on his ” at-will” personnel policy and I urge every county employee and gov. employees on all levels of local gov. to get the best job representation possible. I warn you… your political bosses are going to tear a page from F. Tilman’s handbbook ” How to use People.” The BPD has demonstrated that a strong, effective, union is one of the best ways to safeguard their employees. Another way is for a group of County employee’s to get together and hire a lawyer to represent all their employment rights and or to challenge “Tilman’s farce” right now in court.

Commish Tilman is forgeting that he is an employee of the People and county employees are not his employees but the People’s. I urge every voter to call (PH 208-287-7000) your County Commission or e-mail them (bocc1@adaweb.net) and let them all know how you feel about their new pathetic personnel policy and tell them you’ll be taking that to the voting booth. I urge all government employee’s on all levels.. start looking at Unionization, legal help and anything else to assist yourself and the People you work for have a healthy well-oiled and responsible work environment. Happy employees are the most productive. Maybe you’ll start a join a Union trend in work-harder for less Idaho!

EDITOR NOTE–Unions can be recognized only with approval of the commishes.