Discussion of Haines Borough employee salaries and whether the municipality offers wages competitive enough to attract qualified, successful workers usually crops up in the aftermath of failure.
“You get what you pay for” and “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys” are phrases used when someone new flunks out of a job or an entire department gets blasted in a publicly-funded report.
High-ranking jobs like department heads and high-profile jobs like police officers are usually the positions most scrutinized. So, how do borough salaries compare to similarly-sized communities in Alaska?
According to the Alaska Municipal League’s Fiscal Year 2016 Benefits and Salary Survey, some Haines Borough positions offer more competitive wages than others. For example, Haines’ chief fiscal officer makes $30.75 an hour. In Petersburg, the average wage for finance directors is $38.94, Wrangell is $37.37 and Seldovia is $40.72.
Some jobs are harder to compare because there isn’t enough data, or communities the size of Haines don’t have a comparable position. For example, Haines’ assessor makes $26.62 per hour. But according to the AML survey, the Haines Borough is by far the smallest borough to provide an assessor wage, likely because smaller communities hire contract assessors. The second-smallest community listed was Sitka, population 9,039, with an average wage of $44.15.
In a recent report, interim police chief Robert Griffiths said an experienced candidate turned down the offer of a police officer job in Haines “primarily due to inadequate compensation.”
According to the AML data, the Haines Borough pays its police officers (not including sergeants) $22.73 to $24.48 an hour. In Wrangell, the range is $23.98 to $33.22. In Petersburg, it’s $28.22 to $28.97. There’s also Cordova ($24.51-$28.14), Skagway ($26.39-$36.03) and Craig ($19.99-$22.75).
Not only are officers in Haines paid less than some other communities, Griffiths said he’s observed that seems to be the case for government jobs in general here.
“They do it because they are used to it and they apparently can survive on the wage in Haines, but if you wanted to attract a new person to town to fill that vacancy, they have experience outside of the community with higher wages,” he said.
AML’s salary survey is only one piece of the puzzle, Griffiths pointed out, because communities have different costs of living. Jobs might also have more or fewer responsibilities and varying benefits packages, he said.
Griffiths is currently considering applying for the permanent chief job. Members of the public and assembly have voiced their support for Griffiths remaining in the position, but Griffiths says salary is a sticking point.
He won’t say what pay he wants, but said last week, “It has to be enough so I can pay my bills.”
“The last chief was not being paid very competitively compared to similar chiefs in similar communities,” Griffiths said.
Former police chief Bill Musser was paid $76,800 in salary and $41,400 in benefits when he quit earlier this year. Griffiths was hired at a $9,500 per month salary, though he isn’t eligible for the same benefits as Musser because he is an interim employee, chief fiscal officer Jila Stuart said.
Before Musser, former chief Gary Lowe was making $40.83 per hour, or about $87,000 a year. He also was budgeted to receive $43,000 in benefits.
According to AML, averages for police chiefs in other communities are: Wrangell ($41.26), Skagway ($42.06), North Pole ($46.37), Craig ($33.17), Kotzebue ($57.50), Valdez ($52.62), Yakutat ($36.05), Saint Paul ($45.79) and Sitka ($49.90).
“I know everybody is really trying hard to do what they can to make it an attractive position and an attractive reason to stay,” Griffiths said. “There are many factors in my decision, and I would say the finances are a significant factor, but it is not the only factor.”
Griffiths said he has discussed the wage issue with some assembly members, and not just regarding the chief job.
“I don’t know what the solution is, but I know that the assembly is willing to address this issue from conversations I have had with them, and not just the police chief position, but for the professional staff, the folks that have to have a lot of experience and lots of training,” Griffiths said.
Some assembly members were reticent to comment on what they thought about wages, because most borough positions are part of the Local 71 union and wages are negotiated and established through a collective bargaining agreement.
“It would be inappropriate for me to comment on whether or not salaries should be adjusted up or down. That question will be answered in the course of union negotiations early next year,” assembly member Mike Case said.
“For positions that do not fall under the (collective bargaining agreement), such as the police chief, I think it is important to attract experienced candidates who are very well-qualified and negotiate a competitive salary and benefit package with them that will keep them here,” Case added.
When asked why she thinks data points toward comparatively lower wages in Haines, how that might affect the town, and if she supported raising salaries for any positions, assembly member Diana Lapham responded: “I believe the borough’s goal is to make sure that our compensation package is competitive so that we can attract quality employees while also being affordable and providing value to the community. We continue to look at all aspects of compensation with this in mind.”
Assembly member Ron Jackson said sometimes people think the high quality of life in Haines makes up for the low wages. “I’ve heard people say, ‘Oh, it’s so beautiful, people are willing to work for less to stay here.’ And yet in some professions, they leave because there is competition,” he said.
Assembly candidate Tresham Gregg is among those who think the culture and quality of life in Haines should be more aggressively marketed in positive advertisements, as opposed to raising wages.
Specifically regarding police officers, Gregg said Haines cops aren’t dealing with major crimes like murder, gang violence or major traffic accidents.
“Our crime level is almost non-existent,” Gregg said. “If they can’t appreciate (Haines) because they need to make more money, then they are in the wrong place.”
Assembly candidate Jerry Lapp alluded to the collective bargaining agreement, stating you can’t just arbitrarily raise salaries for one union position (police officer) without expecting other employees to also clamor for a raise. Lapp said that, in general, he thought municipal wages should be higher.
“If you want to attract good solid candidates, you would want good wages,” Lapp said. “Otherwise they will say, ‘Oh, I can go work in Juneau. I can go work in Wrangell, and they are paying $10 an hour more.'”
Candidate Margaret Friedenauer said she wants to see the borough offer competitive wages, though the municipality must realize some people come to Haines to strengthen their resume and move on.
“In any career path, you have to acknowledge people are coming to build up their skills, and that is okay in a community our size,” Friedenauer said. “I think you have to be open to the idea that someone isn’t going to stay here their whole career, and that’s okay.”