City Government
No Unemployment Concerns For Eagle Mayor
February 19, 2010 
Nice work of you can get it! Eagle Mayor Phil Bandy has a full time job with his city and another 30 hour gig with BSU, prompting at least one Eagle citizen to call for a rollback in his city salary by city councilors. THE GUARDIAN WILL GLADLY POST AN UNEDITED RESPONSE FROM THE EAGLE MAYOR.
By SAUNDRA McDAVID
www.saundramcdavid.com
Eagle Mayor Phil Bandy recently accepted a position as the Associate Director for the National Geothermal Data System in the Geosciences Department of Boise State University. This is a long term paid position where he will be assisting with project management and using his bureaucratic experience in outreach to governmental agencies. The position is 30 hours per week and comes with health insurance and PERSI benefits. He has been working at this position since January 12th, but as of February 11th he had not formally announced his second job to the city council or the citizens of Eagle, leaving Eagle residents wondering why the secrecy? Is the mayor focused on the city of Eagle, or distracted by his new duties with BSU? After this article was published on the Voice of Eagle message board Bandy did post a notice in the Valley Times Newspaper on February 15th, claiming he took the job “to benefit my family and to support my long-term career plans.”
The timing of this comes at a critical time for a city which is continually reviewing cost cutting measures and some who would like to see the mayor’s position and salary cut back to part time. Bandy was a city councilman in 2007 when the Eagle city council voted to approve a dramatic increase in salary due to the mayor’s position being changed from part time to full time. Shortly after that decision was made, Bandy announced he was running for mayor. During the campaign, when some of the mayoral candidates were claiming the mayor’s position was not about the salary and offered to decrease the amount, Bandy was justifying the salary claiming that the job required a full time person who would be putting in far more than 40 hours a week. After Bandy was elected, he stated that the job duties also required a full time assistant, who is now also on the city payroll. The yearly cost to Eagle taxpayers for the mayor and his full time assistant is now $146,732. Are Eagle citizens getting their money’s worth?
Now many are questioning how Eagle’s full time mayor, with a full time salary and a full time assistant, has time to work as an Associate Director at BSU. All of this while the city is experiencing staffing and budget cuts and is open only four days a week. Last year, amid these budget cuts, salary reductions and layoffs, the city council voted to decrease their salary by 50%. Mayor Bandy offered up a meager 2.5% cut for the mayor’s position while imposing a higher cut on the city staff salaries. Bandy’s new job leaves many people wondering if he is positioning himself for an exit from City Hall, at the expense of Eagle taxpayers. Moonlighting poses yet another ethical dilemma for Eagle’s mayor who will likely face increased scrutiny of the hours he dedicates to the city he is supposed to be running. He now owes the people of Eagle an explanation of how he intends to do two jobs at once, especially after he justified the increase in the mayor’s salary by stating the job required more than 40 hours a week. Are there safeguards that will assure the people that city hall property such as telephones, computers, copy machines and time are not being used for the mayor’s second job? There is a difference between having a full time job and having a full time commitment to a job. Can a moonlighting mayor claim he is committed full time to the citizens of Eagle? Mayors of Eagle’s neighboring cities indicate no. Both Meridian Mayor Tammy De Weerd and Nampa Mayor Tom Dale, who earn salaries comparable to Eagle’s mayor, indicated they would never consider taking a second job while working full time as elected politicians in their respective cities.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Feb 19, 2010, 4:15 pm
It is time for Eagle Citizens to stand up and say enough is enough.
The Mayor is getting paid a full time salary for a City that does not need a full time Mayor. Add on a Mayor Assistant is out of line. I suppose he had to get a second job to pay his share of the new 22% PROPERTY tax increase imposed on Eagle citizens because of his inability to manage the city.
Feb 19, 2010, 4:44 pm
If we do not see the city council put forward a motion next week to reduce his salary to equal 10 hours a week then there should be a recall of BOTH the mayor and the city coucil members based on fruad onthe mayors part.
Feb 19, 2010, 5:54 pm
Bandy was one of the few department heads Otter axed when he became governor. Bandy’s performance as mayor illustrates that Butch got at least that decision right. Now, if only the Eagle Council and citizens have the courage to dump the chump. Bandy is well deserving of having his Eagle pay rate reduced.
Feb 19, 2010, 5:54 pm
Ms. McDavid’s article raises serious questions about Eagle’s mayor and his commitment to his full-time elected mayoral duties. There’s no way he can juggle two full-time jobs with all the requisite meetings and planning and do either justice. I agree that his salary and hours as mayor should be reduced or he should resign or be recalled for dereliction of duties. There are too many people in this state and nationwide trying to do the best for their families too and yet they cannot find even one job to sustain them in this tanked economy. The Eagle mayor has yet again exercised poor judgment at taxpayers’ expense. You’re right, Marv and MAD, enough is enough.
Feb 19, 2010, 7:07 pm
Didn’t Saundra McDavid run against Phil Bandy for the Mayorship of Eagle? If so, shouldn’t we assume a bias on her part? And shouldn’t she have disclosed that in her article? Are the vinyards in Eagle producing sour grapes?
And can any of you other commenters provide any examples of “mismanagement” by the mayor?
Aren’t property tax increases limited to 3% per year for each taxing authority? Where does the 22% figure come from?
EDITOR NOTE–As to BIAS, Saundra would be first to agree with you!
As to tax increases, there is a 3% cap on BUDGET increases.
Feb 19, 2010, 7:22 pm
I hope to see council do something about this. This is an out right bending-over of Eagle taxpayers.
Feb 19, 2010, 9:36 pm
Get rid of the Mayor s a full time job, get rid of the assistant and hire a full time city manager.
City manager govt. puts a full time business professional in charge of a city and the city business.
Move the Mayor to just another member of the city council.
More than half of the cities and counties in this country are run by city/county managers. I do not understand why this has not caught on in Idaho.
Feb 19, 2010, 11:52 pm
Typical government waste. But thanks to sites like these, Average American Joe & Joleens are finally being made aware of the tremendous rip-off to the taxpayer in EVERY facet of government. JOIN THE TEAPARTY!
Feb 20, 2010, 9:26 am
Let’s see, Eagle has $ 146,732 for a Mayor and an assistant to the Mayor but couldn’t come up with $ 15,000 last Fall for its share of intercounty bus service that runs through Eagle.
I seem to recall BSU came up with part of that $ 15,000 to keep the service running.
Interesting.
Feb 20, 2010, 9:59 am
Of course he needs a assistant someone has to run the city while he give’s his time to the other job. Lets see, what do we pay him for?
Feb 20, 2010, 10:15 am
I can understand and appreciate Mayor Bandy not thinking of the job as lifetime employment. He should be applauded for looking to the future when he is no longer mayor of Eagle.
Doesn’t it make sense to have someone on the payroll who is actually an employee of the city and in the
in charge chair at city hall? City Manager govt. takes care of this problem.
Feb 21, 2010, 3:35 am
I agree that an explanation from the mayor is in order, as is an investigation as to whether or not he is adequately attending to his job (tho, if I may, this should be a matter of course will all elected officials), but it’s also important to be willing to accept the possibility that he is able to fully preform all functions of both jobs with minimal impact to either. The position at BSU may be classified as “30 hours per week” but the actual time commitment needed may be less, or it may be the hours are highly flexible, enabling the mayor to work evenings/weekends or from home. If he is satisfactorily fulfilling his duties as mayor, and assuming he is not violating any sort of non-compete clause or other legal bar to dual employment, then he deserves the full salary that comes with the job. The question of whether the mayor’s salary is reasonable is an important one to ask, but separate from the questions of job performance.
If for some reason he is found not to be fulfilling his duties as mayor, I don’t know if cutting his salary is the right option. Certainly if he had no second job no one would be suggesting it. Typically when the electorate is unhappy with an elected official other avenues are available, such as a vote of no confidence from the city council, a recall election, highly visible opinion pieces like this one, or perhaps there is a mechanism under Idaho or Eagle law where someone can be removed from office for “dereliction of duty” or the like. At the very least you can run against him next time and in the meanwhile make sure that as many people as possible know about his poor job performance.
The biggest thing to look at, in my mind, is whether or not the only reason he had the time to take the second job is because he hired a full-time assistant. If that new position so lightened his load that taking the second job was possible, then it would be eminently reasonable to cut the position to part time or eliminate it entirely.
A second important issue is if there would be any conflicts of interest with the mayor also being on the payroll of one the county’s largest employers. If he ends up keeping both jobs, he will need to take precautions to avoid any improprieties in dealings that the City of Eagle may have with BSU.
Feb 21, 2010, 10:35 am
Timm? Friend? Brother? Father?
Come clean on this one. Wife?
Feb 21, 2010, 11:31 am
The Eagle mayor was elected to tend to the city’s business full time. He should have disclosed his intentions to accept an associate directorship at BSU to the city council and his electorate beforehand. This definitely has the appearance of impropriety. What will this new job entail? What hours will he be required to keep? If he’s hired for 30 hours per week with benefits, then he’d better work 30 hours per week as any other employee would be required to do. Will the projects he oversees have impact on cities? Will he work his BSU schedule around his mayoral schedule or vice versa? Most dedicated full time public officials/public servants spend much more than 40 hours a week tending to business, i.e., the “public service” thing. Whether he has future career aspirations or not is irrelevant. He is an elected paid mayor and his primary duties are to his city and electorate. I don’t have much pity for those who take their jobs for granted, while others have no jobs and seemingly no future. I am speaking ONLY to this job situation, nothing else.
Feb 21, 2010, 5:50 pm
None of the above, actually, not even a resident of Eagle. The piece was written by a political opponent of Bandy’s who has a vested interest in painting everything he does in a negative light, and is full of vague claims and innuendo. As such I think it bears some skeptical scrutiny.
“. . .but as of February 11th he had not formally announced his second job to the city council or the citizens of Eagle. . .” Is it somehow expected or legally required that the Mayor of Eagle formally announce dual employment?
“. . . leaving Eagle residents wondering why the secrecy?” So far the only Eagle resident I’m aware of wondering about all this “secrecy” is McDavid. If other residents are wondering the same thing, McDavid could have included links to other articles or sources.
“The yearly cost to Eagle taxpayers for the mayor and his full time assistant is now $146,732.” Is this excessive? McDavid seems to want us to think so, but offers no evidence as to what the mayor and his assistant should be paid. I will admit to not knowing what is reasonable in this case. Is this number just salary? Or is the cost of benefits included too?
“Are Eagle citizens getting their money’s worth?” A fair question to ask, but one that should be asked in all times of all elected officials. McDavid asking this question in this article about this particular official can be seen as self-serving.
“Now many are questioning. . .” Again the vague “many.” If others are asking this question, then drop some links. Surely its come up in a letter to the editor, in another blog or on a forum somewhere. The only other instance she offers of this debate happening is in another forum where she posted the same article.
“Bandy’s new job leaves many people wondering. . .” More vague appeals to many people.
I want to make a few things clear. I am not, as I said, a resident of Eagle and do not follow Eagle city politics. I believe that McDavid’s central question is a valid one and the taxpayers deserve to know whether or not Bandy will be able to fulfill his duties as mayor while being employed elsewhere. The recent introduction of a full-time mayoral assistant is also something to be scrutinized. If the only thing that makes holding both jobs possible is the fact that he has an assistant, then I would say ethics compels him to choose one job or the other; he should not be permitted to excessively enrich himself at the taxpayers expense. Despite her having a good point, I do take issue with the tone of her column. She could have asked these questions in a more reasonable manner that did not attempt to create some kind of secret plot or score cheap points against a political rival. Also, one possibility that McDavid does not seem open to is one where Bandy is able to fully serve both BSU and the City of Eagle, and the presence of the assistant is not a factor. If this turns out to be the case, then he deserves full compensation from both jobs.
Feb 21, 2010, 10:07 pm
I think this is a “family values” issue. Where are the Tea Party folks and Family Values Police on this? His family has to be suffering with a 70 hour work load.
Feb 21, 2010, 10:29 pm
A CORRECTION – While I find it refreshing to read a comment such as Timms, (one that is not a witch hunt or biased, just an honest observation) I feel it is necessary to make a correction. The Mayor did NOT hire a new full time assistant position. In fact when Mayor Bandy was sworn into office, Nancy Merrill’s former assistant was still in the office. She ended up moving and Mayor Bandy hired another assistant (at a REDUCED salary) that has worked there almost two years.
An interesting note, this assistant that is so “unnecessary” is also the Webmaster for the City of Eagle, received a $6000 grant to pay part of her salary so she could assist the Arts Commission, (who lost their staff person in the layoffs), assists several other committees, is the back up for both the Clerks Office and Water Department as well as assists Mayor Bandy.
McDavid will do anything she can to twist and turn the story to slam Mayor Bandy. Maybe she should take a good look at herself…after all the citizens of Eagle have rejected her candidacies THREE times. Maybe it’s time to let it go and move on.
While the Mayor’s and his assistant’s salaries are constantly compared to those of other Cities, no one ever stops to mention that other Cities have significantly more staff members ranging from 6 to 22 depending on the City. Mayor Bandy has one. If you compare over all budgets of the Mayor’s offices, the City of Eagle is getting a screaming deal.
If his critics would focus on being part of the solution rather than the problem, Eagle could come together as a community to be admired.
One final point, while I do not work for the City or know Mayor Bandy personally, I do know several great employees of Eagle City Hall and am frankly tired of reading absolute CRAP about a hardworking group of people, who really do care about the City of Eagle.
Feb 21, 2010, 11:50 pm
Thank you Patty. Although there are some questions to be asked about the mayor’s time allocation, I have had the very pleasant opportunity to work with the staff at city hall. They are among the most competent people there are. They take “multi-tasking” to a whole different level. All the while they are as pleasant as they can be. Truly an assett to Eagle
Feb 22, 2010, 9:23 am
Patty,
No one has said anything negative about Eagle city hall workers. Ms. McDavid has simply raised the valid question about the mayor holding two full-time jobs without disclosure to the City Council and electorate who have a right to know. Anyone who does follow Eagle city news knows that Ms. McDavid is a local activist with strong opinions shared by others. Don’t turn legitimate questions that any good reporter would ask a politician into an attack on Ms. McDavid’s character. The mayor should request an opinion about his job status from the city attorney to ensure there are no conflicts and should make full disclosure about his hours, etc., and how he plans to balance his dual jobs and still give his best to the city of Eagle.
Feb 22, 2010, 12:16 pm
For Eagle Mayor Bandy’s response to questions from a constituent regarding his BSU job, go to:
http://www.valleytimesidaho.com/subscriptions.html
Download this week’s edition, read his remarks and judge for yourselves.
Feb 22, 2010, 1:32 pm
I recall Bandy listing two job titles in his letter to the Valley Times. In these days of spiraling tuition costs, how can what sounds to be two important posts, be covered in 30 hrs a week, or is this just an appointment? With all the unemployment, BSU couldn’t find someone without a full time job already that may be able to put in even more hours and do a terrific job? I don’t see alot of lofty qualification in Bandy or in his performance as mayor, certainly not to the caliber of the high cost for him and assistant. 70 hrs a week is 10 hr. days, 7 days a week (talking minimum time here). Don’t see Bandy being up to that level.
Feb 23, 2010, 8:30 am
I don’t really have a problem with him having a second job.
My problem is that most second jobs pay about $6.50 a hr. So is being Eagle mayor his full time job or his part time job?
Feb 23, 2010, 11:24 am
Suckling on two public tits at the same time! As far as the city of Eagle goes, hey you guys voted him in deal with it as you will. BSU on the other hand, job well done. Despite the academic job title it looks like this position has more to do with stroking polititians for money than anything science related. Clearly this guy knows how to extract funds from the public sector. I guess you found your man.
Feb 23, 2010, 12:21 pm
UPDATE: According to THE DAILY, Mayor Bandy has accepted a 20-hour weekly contract with BSU that began Jan. 20 and runs through the end of the fiscal year, June 26. Salary: $19,707 funded through a U.S. Department of Energy grant. Title: associate director for the National Geothermal Data System. Benefits: Bandy has said he has informed the city council that his health care bennies will be provided through BSU with a savings to Eagle of $13,000.
EDITOR NOTE–Thanks for the update. Nice gesture to save the folks in Eagle the cost of bennies. Also nice deal to get bennies on a 20 hr. job!
Feb 23, 2010, 3:23 pm
$13,000 will be saved in 6 months(contract begins Jan. and runs through June)? Switching insurance for a 6 month contract run? So will there be a return to Eagle paying for the insurance in July?
Feb 24, 2010, 11:18 pm
alike:
The article didn’t specify whether the contract end date is 2010 or 2011. Either way, the mayor must have expectations of a renewed contract or another BSU job to save Eagle’s budget “about $13,000 annually,” according to The Daily’s not well fleshed out article. His comments in the VT were directed at discrediting a constitutent, instead of just explaining the second job. He is a public figure open to scrutiny; the constitutent is not. Like you, I still have questions about this issue.