ashe

OCM, given the effort on the reporting previously performed by the Post, you raise a good point about accuracy.

I'd say it's nearly impossible to compare the two. WJ is much more of a full-service town with an urban downtown infrastructure that is costly to maintain. WJ also gets more visitation.

Service is not just for bedroom/nighttime residents. WJ swells every day. When Jefferson swells, it's at the Hospital and County where they both have built in security services.

WJ has the more complicated WWTP and it discharges into a higher rated body of water. WJ has the higher fire flow need than Jefferson.

They are like an apple and a pear, both fruit, but not the same. Also, you don't know that those numbers are actual salary or a line item in a simple budget that does not break out salary from benefits, SS, etc., etc. So it may be that it's 92K to fund the CM position in Jefferson and that's inclusive of all the costs, whereas what was published for WJ might not include everything. I don't know, following accounting from a newspaper article is like trying to read a computer screen through the mud.

We got the county manager cheap for what Jefferson is paying their manager. No wonder they cant pay the mayor and aldermen.

Well that makes a lot of since. West Jefferson has near twice the staff with 1.3 million missing from their budget. Good job to west Jefferson for ripping off employees haha if I was them I would be trying to work in Jefferson.

That's the figures I've seen published by the media for both towns.

Sorry I meant they'd never been 1 town :)

So are you saying that Jefferson has a 4.5 million dollar or higher budget when West Jefferson only has a 3.2 million budget?

Well it was 4.5 million in 2014-15 so I imagine it is higher now.

A 3.2 million dollar budget in West Jefferson and how much is Jeffersons budget?

Looks to me like she has quite a few responsibilities, each of which is not easy to perform. I'd say she earns her money.

The Jefferson Town Manager gets paid $92000 for what. When was the last time the Town of Jefferson got a grant to improve the town. West Jefferson and Lansing have gotten grants in the last two years. Look how nice West Jefferson looks. The West Jefferson manager should be paid more than Jefferson's manager. She is way over paid

Value, correct me if I'm wrong.

Doesn't the town managers work the same hours? By the looks of the two towns, it appears to me that the value is in West Jefferson.

Maintenance, seems like the West Jefferson crew has lot more to do than Jefferson and I assume they work the same hours.

Law Enforcement, Jefferson police is only part time with a chief, detective, and a cop. West Jefferson is full time.

I don't even know what a public works director is or what they do.

That being said, u speak of value, I believe the value is clearly in west jefferson.

Your review is based just on math. Other variables come into play.

The "finished product" - that being how well the functions of the towns are achieved - are not based on price - but rather on value.

I was reviewing all of the salaries

1. Mayor/Alderman Jefferson make $0 West Jefferson makes $1500 ($1500 difference)

2. Town Manager Jefferson make $92,000 West Jefferson makes $61,879.65 (30,120.35 difference)

3. Maintenance highest paid guys: Jefferson makes $9,000 more than West Jefferson

4. Law Enforcement highest paid guys: Jefferson makes near 12k more than West Jefferson

5. Waste Water & Water Plant highest paid guys: Jefferson makes $250 more than West Jefferson

6. Public Works Director in Jefferson makes $70,189.28 and West Jefferson didn't list one

We are either paying Jefferson way to much, or West Jefferson is getting ripped off.

Thank you..

Scott meant they have never been "one" town.

That was the impression I was under as well.

They've never been two towns.

West Jefferson sprang up because the train depot was built there and pretty soon became the commercial part of the county, which it has largely remained even though the train left years ago (I waved the last train out of town).

I rode the train to Lansing twice as a teenager. Worked on the Autum leaf excursion for mrs Anderson.