https://calwatchdog.com/2013/06/21/all-hail-carlsbad-city-abandons-automatic-step-raises/ Mon, 24 Jun 2013 06:22:05 +0000 hourly 1 https://calwatchdog.com/2013/06/21/all-hail-carlsbad-city-abandons-automatic-step-raises/#comment-12738 Mon, 24 Jun 2013 06:22:05 +0000 http://www.calwatchdog.com/?p=44567#comment-12738 Still way overpaid…………..

]]> https://calwatchdog.com/2013/06/21/all-hail-carlsbad-city-abandons-automatic-step-raises/#comment-12737 Sun, 23 Jun 2013 19:36:52 +0000 http://www.calwatchdog.com/?p=44567#comment-12737 Beware of merit pay systems. We have a handful of those where I live now, and it has resulted in massive increases in pay.
In some ways, the merit system is good. You really do land the best of the best. But the problem is that public sector pay is structured for the mediocre, not the best of the best. Normally embedded in all of these merit pay agreements is a matching pay clause. If someone jumps from the private sector, then you have to match their previous private sector pay. Imagine what would happen to if a Big 4 auditor jumps to a full merit pay public position? Suddenly you have a mid six figure salary on the book with five figure annual raises!
This is what has happened to the merit pay cities in my state. They have average salaries near $100k and median salaries well over $100k. Great staffs, but they have to pay dearly for them.

]]>