Local government puts beauty before protection

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Local government puts beauty before protection

By Scott Beasley | July 18, 2008 |

The Clarksville Police Department For several years now I have noticed the subpar pay that the Clarksville Police and Firefighters have received. In the past, I have done little more than shake my head and think, “that’s pathetic”. Recently the local leaders of Clarksville approved a budget that again, kept the city employees from getting a cost of living increase. That’s understandable in a “tight” budget year. The problem is they haven’t gotten a cost of living raise in 10 years. Even the study conducted by the city found the city employees were underpaid by $1.8 million to comparable markets. The study also found that CPD officers were underpaid by $5,000.

Of the $9.4 million budgeted for capital projects, $4.2 million were mandated by a lawsuit to bring the sidewalks into ADA compliance. That leaves $5.2 million being spent on projects such as the marina, fountain and river walk. All of these amenities are very nice and many people around the community desperately want them. That being said, there’s a huge difference between wants and needs.

A home on Crossland Avenue was struck by a downed tree and powerlines which triggered a structure fire. I recently brought up the fact on the Leaf-Chronicle website that according to the US Department of Labor Bureau of Statistics, the City of Clarksville’s Firefighters annual median wage was $32,800 in 2005. The national annual median wage for firefighters in 2007 was $43,170. I realize there’s a two year difference, but since the firefighters haven’t gotten a raise since then, I’m sure it’s still pretty close. That means they are underpaid by 24%!

The data for the patrol officers includes the county, but in 2007 for cops its $34,460, yet the national median wage was $49,630 and that’s an astounding 30%! Now if the cops and firemen are underpaid $10K-$15K, there must be a reason, right? Many of the mayor’s supporters began making the excuse that the median household income for Clarksville was less than the national average. So, I did some research and low and behold, according to the US Department of Labor and US Census Bureau, the median household income in 2006 was $48,200 per year(2007 numbers won’t come out until August). According to Clarksville’s own website, the median household income for the city in 2008 (estimated) was $48,630.

After that myth was laid to rest, many continued to make excuses for the city budget and low pay for the protective services. The next excuse given was that the tax burden in Clarksville was lower than the rest of the nation. I then asked for proof and found some startling figures.

The tax burden for the entire state of Tennessee is indeed lower than the median. Its 2.5% lower to be exact, according to the Tax Foundation. In an effort to be fair, the tax burden represents the ENTIRE tax burden placed upon an area including federal, state and local so it is logical to consider this when making such an assessment. The problem is that 2.5% represents the entire state, not solely Clarksville. So, I compared Clarksville/Montgomery county property taxes with that of other areas in the state, and here’s where it got interesting.

According to the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Clarksville’s property taxes are $3.14 for the county and then $1.31 for the city per $100 assessed land value. The residents of Clarksville are paying $4.45; in Nashville/Davidson County it is $4.69. All of the communities within Nashville that set their own rates are lower than Clarksville’s city tax. Chattanooga is $5.35, Knoxville is $5.50, Memphis is a whopping $7.47, Springfield/Robertson Co. was $3.13, Dickson $3.53, Dover $3.78 and Ashland City $3.74. It seems to me Clarksville is about right for a city this size except when compared to Nashville. Since many people in the community are always comparing the lack of high end retail outlets, I looked at Williamson County. Brentwood is $2.75 and Franklin was $3.50.

Now, nothing about the taxes in Clarksville jumps out at me in comparison to national levels, but it seems a little high compared to Nashville and Franklin. Now if the tax burden for the area is only 2.5% below the median, and Clarksville is definitely higher than most of Tennessee, it would seem reasonable that the 2.5% is not quite as far from the national average as the rest of the state across the board. So, if we deduct 2.5% for arguments sake, we are still at 21.5% for the firefighters and 27% for the cops below the national median.

When presented with these figures, they moved onto the next phase which is cost of living. Now there are many problems when factoring in the cost of living in terms of setting pay. Some said Clarksville was 15% lower, and I have seen it listed as 22% lower than the national average cost of living index. Since the cost of living accounts as a comparison for the entire nation, it’s very difficult, if not impossible to include communities of lesser populations, or communities that don’t have fire departments or police departments and get an accurate evaluation for pay scale purposes. Many cost of living indicators such as housing, transportation, utilities and health care can vary greatly within very small areas.

Clarksville firefighters swap out at a structure fire in Lincoln Homes

To provide an example, I used my town, Cedar Hill, and compared it to Clarksville for cost of living. Naturally, I assumed Cedar Hill would be slightly less. Boy was I in for a shock! According to a comparative website, Sperling’s best places, Cedar Hill is 19-24% MORE expensive than Clarksville. Housing was the main factor. I agree with using the cost of living for pay setting purposes to a degree, but if the COL varies THAT much within relatively small areas, there are too many circumstances to use it as a major component or rule of thumb. Though it needs to be considered, I would tend to use the median incomes for the area and compare them to national averages to get a better and more accurate assessment.

After much research and study, I don’t think there’s any question that our cops and firefighters are underpaid, and I believe it to be a travesty that the elected officials of Clarksville again, found something more important to spend taxpayer money on, rather than reward and honorable profession with honorable pay.

I’m not against the government spending money on improvements. Lord knows a fountain, marina and river walk extension are very nice amenities and the city should be able to provide such improvements on a regular basis. The main problem I have in this “tight” budget year is that $9.4 million was budgeted for capital projects. After the $4.2 mandatory sidewalk deduction, that leaves $5.2 million that was spent on these improvements. If the roughly 400 cops and firemen were just given a $10K raise each, that’s $4 million. It would still leave $1.2 million which I believe would give the rest of the city employees their step raises, OR put in a fountain.

I suppose the city government has made their decision and the men and women who risk their lives daily will be put on the back burner, once again. It just seems sad to me, when the priorities are so out of whack that people would rather have things like a marina so they can go out and float around in raw sewage, rather than pay the protective services what they deserve. Clarksville is so concerned with what other communities are doing in terms of beautification and economic development, yet turn a blind eye to the people that provide security and protection. It just amazes me.