Sudden, Massive Raise A Very Bad Idea

I wonder if somebody’s eyeing David Johnson’s job and wanted the pay bumped up first.

That’s an awfully sinister take on the sudden raising of the Fayetteville Library director’s pay by $23,600 a year. By all accounts, Johnson is doing a great job, and the library board has every reason to want to keep him. My purpose in raising an awful notion is to illustrate something the very generous library board clearly didn’t consider: just how bad this sudden jump looks.

Let’s recap. Trustees gave Johnson a 27 percent raise - over his protests. He’s in the process of drawing up the 2014 budget. Gosh, don’t you think such an expense should be worked out through the regular budget process, he asked the library board. The question wasn’t rhetorical.

Give Johnson credit. Drop a bag with $23,600 in it infront of me, and I’d probably keep my mouth shut except to say “thank you.” His handling of the situation supports the notion he deserves every penny of his raise. But rushing to spend without proper budgeting was irresponsible of the board. The whole purpose of a board of trustees is to be good stewards of public money. They failed.

Let’s suppose this rash act sprung from the best of motives. Do you want to keep Johnson? Are you afraid he’ll go away, or just want to reward him for a job well done?

Here’s a hint: Don’t throw $23,600 of expenses at your administrator from out of the blue. Respect good management practices, common sense and the very reasonable recommendations of the manager you’re purportedly trying so hard to keep.

Convince him and the public he serves his board doesn’t act on impulse.

Don’t undermine public support by throwing money around, especially not when you’re planning an expansion that will require a bond election in 2015. Public hearings on plans start in February.

Furthermore, recognize the manager can’t be doing a good job unless his staff is doing a good job, too. Giving the boss a huge raise before giving any consideration to raises for staff in the regular budget process was tantamount to giving the CEO all the credit.

Also keep in mind - toget back to my original point - the position the board has put the library in if we are so unfortunate as to lose Johnson. If a qualifi ed local candidate’s available, there will now be suspicion this pay raise feathered the nest.

Perish the thought. How could I even think of such a thing? Because I’m not only conscious of how things are, but how they look. A public board of trustees should be aware of the same things.

Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion and so forth.

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At the other end of the spectrum, I’m late in congratulating the people who got the Walton Arts Center expansion bonds passed in last month’s special election. True, the election only shifted tax money around without raising any. Still, if you’d told me that anything - anything - could have passed in Fayetteville with 85 percent of the vote, I’dhave looked at you funny.

This was an outstanding result, and everybody who worked on the campaign deserves credit.

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In a final note, I’d like to mention a former Fayetteville resident who hit the big time: Hillary Clinton.

I’ve tried to avoid the gossipy, glamorlike coverage of a presidential race that hasn’t even been announced yet. Still, I’ve been more than slightly annoyed since Nov. 10 when I read this:

“Congressional Republicans have spent months investigating her like she already resides in the White House,” New Republic editor Noam Scheiber breathlessly informed us. That’s the second sentence of his presidential trial balloon for liberal lioness Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

I’ve nothing against Sen. Warren, and I hope Hillary Clinton does drawa primary opponent in 2016. Nobody should get nominated in a coronation.

Practically politically speaking, winning a primary would also take off some of the taint from Clinton of being the front runner who lost in 2008.

Here’s my gripe: When did congressional Republicans ever stop “investigating” Hillary Clinton? They’ve looked at her and her husband obsessively for more than 20 years. They even tried to impeach then-president Bill Clinton. And if Warren gets the nomination, does anyone believe congressional Republicans won’t “investigate” her?

Scheiber raising the “issue” of “investigations” is just as crass and political as the investigations themselves.

DOUG THOMPSON IS A POLITICAL REPORTER AND COLUMNIST FOR NWA MEDIA.