REFLECTIONS
It’s something I learned in my early days of employee management. As a manager, I was told not to get into a bidding war over salary issues with an employee.
My first management misstep came when a bookkeeper asked for MORE money. She was a good employee but not a superstar. What became more complicated was the fact we had two of her sisters in our employment, and we didn’t want to lose all three sisters.
I gave in and offered the bookkeeper a raise.
Yes, I’m sure you know what comes next. Her sisters were knocking on my door wanting a raise, too. HELP!
What do I do now
I called my boss in and asked him what I should do. He told me to give the bookkeeper an increase in wages but to stay firm with the other two sisters.
In the end, I lost all three sisters but managed to return to solid ground with management procedures.
I bring all this up in observing what the Blooming Prairie City Council did in salary negotiations. I believe the council stepped out of bounds in offering a city administrator a $35,000 pay hike to surpass the offer from the Freeborn County Board.
The council’s rationale was the fact the city faced some difficult decisions in the near future, and they gave administrator Melanie Aeschliman the healthy salary to stay on board.
Her new job offer came from Freeborn County to serve as its new administrator.
The city administrator’s salary would grow from $116,000 to $150,000 in Blooming Prairie.
At first blush, it appeared that Aeschliman was going to stay. She was then contacted by a Blooming Prairie official, who learned that Freeborn County raised the ante to almost $170,000.
Now, she is leaving.
New search begins
A search for a new administrator will begin after Aeschliman leaves BP and starts her new job in Freeborn County. Whoever the next candidates are, they will have an inside track on the financial potential.
The BP Council members acted in good faith, but remember this, Blooming Prairie is a SMALL town.
We wish Melanie the best in her new venture. We also wish the best to the BP Council in its search for a new city administrator.