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Community questions proposal to increase association’s staff
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The Columbia Association’s proposed fiscal 2009 budget includes $45,000 for the renovation of a sitting area near the sculpture known as “The Hug” to create a “more welcoming ambiance in keeping with the importance of Town Center Plaza,” according to CA officials. The restoration would be complete in January 2009.
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - The Columbia Association’s push to add to its ranks has some in the community wondering whether a tight budget year is the right time to spend money on new staff.
Spending for salaries and wages, not including benefits, in the CA’s proposed budgets for fiscal 2009 and 2010 jumped more than 12 percent, mainly because of new hires, CA officials said.
“This isn’t the year we can afford to be over the top,” said CA board Chairwoman Barbara Russell, who was not speaking on behalf of the entire board.
With a slumping economy and other organizations cutting costs, the CA should consider launching fewer new initiatives requiring new staff, Russell said.
The communications and marketing division would add 15 full-time positions to run a consolidated call center that would handle calls on facilities and memberships and improve customer service, said Steven Sattler, the CA’s director of marketing and communications.
Other new hires include a:
» Quality assurance manager to create a plan for measuring whether the organization is providing good customer service;
» Equipment repair technician;
» Structural integrity coordinator to examine the integrity of CA buildings;
» Webmaster.
Salaries and wages account for more than $18 million of the $56.4 million in expenses in the proposed fiscal 2009 budget.
Last April, CA President Maggie Brown signed a contract with an annual salary of $190,000 plus bonuses.
The new positions amount to about $583,000 of the increase, said Rafia Siddiqui, CA’s chief financial officer.
The nearly $1.5 million increase includes money for an average 3.5 percent raise. Raises are based on performance evaluations and aren’t automatic boosts, Siddiqui said. Staff members may receive raises of up to 5 percent.
Watchdog group Alliance for a Better Columbia also raised concerns about an increase in salaries and wages, which rose even as the total number of full-time positions dips by a few to 527, said Alex Hekimian, head of the alliance.
“We don’t think the increase in salaries and wages should be any more than about 3 or 4 percent,” he said, calling the increase “absolutely ridiculous.”
By the numbers
The Columbia Association released its proposed fiscal 2009 operating and capital budget, which includes expenses totally nearly $56.4 million.
The proposed conditional 2010 budget, also released, proposes spending $57.7 million.
Some of the notable expenditures for both fiscal years are:
» $925,000 in fiscal 2009 and $625,000 in fiscal 2010 for the creation and implementation of a watershed quality program.
» $200,000 in fiscal 2009 to complete the installation of new security equipment at CA’s community buildings and facilities.
» $626,000 in fiscal 2009 for the restoration and replacement of about 20,000 feet of pathways and $500,000 in fiscal 2010 for work on 15,000 feet of pathways.
» $250,000 in fiscal 2009 and $2.7 million in fiscal 2010 for the dredging of the upper reach of Wilde Lake.
» $426,000 in fiscal 2009 and $439,000 in fiscal 2010 for the renovation of six tot lots in Columbia, one playground in Long Reach and one in River Hill to comply with safety guidelines and retain aesthetic appeal.
» $300,000 in fiscal 2009 and $309,000 in fiscal 2010 for the replacement of 15 pedestrian bridges in Columbia open space.
» $10,000 in fiscal 2009 and $80,000 in fiscal 2010 to determine the condition of the “People Tree” sculpture in Town Center and make improvements.
» $85,000 in fiscal 2009 for the replacement of the 40-year-old wooden pier and gazebo that extends into Lake Kittamaqundi in Town Center.
» $45,000 in fiscal 2009 for the renovation of a sitting area near the sculpture known as “The Hug.”
If you go
» What: Public hearing on the Columbia Association’s proposed fiscal 2009 and fiscal 2010 budgets
» When: 7:30 tonight
» Where: 10221 Wincopin Circle, Columbia
smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
7:22 AM MST on Wed., Aug. 29, 2007 re: "Residents question CA salaries, bonuses"
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12:27 PM MST on Tue., Aug. 28, 2007
re: "Most CA officers earn six figures"
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12:51 PM MST on Fri., May. 4, 2007
re: "New board chair wants a positive culture"
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Examiner Reader said:
Sounds like Mr. Hekimian wants Ms. Browns job. Is she making more money than him?
197 agree | 186 disagree
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King said:
Columbia is run by a homeowners association? News to me.....What a stupid decsion to buy a home there....you still pay taxes right? and you pay thiis too? Lovely.
179 agree | 158 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Columbia no longer needs the CA, we've outgrown it. We need a mayor, city and be run like a real city instead of a homeowners association.
193 agree | 187 disagree
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