An old tale concerns a hot shot attorney in his late 20's who suddenly died from a heart attack and found himself welcomed to heaven by St. Peter. The attorney protested his early death detailing his fitness regimen which included Iron Man Triathlons, macrobiotic foods, and excellent preventative health care. The Saint seemed perplexed in checking his records and noting that the attorney was not slated for death until the age of 88, but then realized that the heavenly records measured the attorney's age in harmony with the billable attorney hours he had charged to clients!
I pondered this in reading various posts concerning the latest thrown "paper weight" by new Council Member TimBen Boydston ("TBB"), specifically that his total compensation is some $10K less annually than his fellow council members due to a different application of "in lieu" of pay if council members decline City health insurance coverage. According to material published in the LA Times on August 1, 2011, Santa Clarita Council members receive an average compensation package of just north of $42K per year for this "part time" job, but how much time do they really spend on council business?
Well, according to Council Member Marsha McLean, who has publicly stated that she gets paid 25 CENTS per hour for her council service, she must by default spend a bit more than 168,000 hours PER YEAR on Council business. This amounts to the incredible devotion of 3,230 hours per WEEK working for the City; a neat trick when one considers that the Terran week consists of only 168 hours. Maybe she is thinking really, really hard about City business?
In defense of Ms. McLean, many people not schooled in numbers often throw out unsupportable (and ridiculous) numerical hyperbole that runs up against astronomical fact to make themselves seem put upon in their public service (read "Don't criticize me! I am practically doing this for nothing!) , but even if we felt that the Council Members verifiably devoted 1,000 hours per year to City business, that equates to an annual pay package of about $84K, which makes Council member one bitchin' part time gig.
Marsha McLean and the 3,230 Hour Work Week!!
I pondered this in reading various posts concerning the latest thrown "paper weight" by new Council Member TimBen Boydston ("TBB"), specifically that his total compensation is some $10K less annually than his fellow council members due to a different application of "in lieu" of pay if council members decline City health insurance coverage. According to material published in the LA Times on August 1, 2011, Santa Clarita Council members receive an average compensation package of just north of $42K per year for this "part time" job, but how much time do they really spend on council business?
Well, according to Council Member Marsha McLean, who has publicly stated that she gets paid 25 CENTS per hour for her council service, she must by default spend a bit more than 168,000 hours PER YEAR on Council business. This amounts to the incredible devotion of 3,230 hours per WEEK working for the City; a neat trick when one considers that the Terran week consists of only 168 hours. Maybe she is thinking really, really hard about City business?
In defense of Ms. McLean, many people not schooled in numbers often throw out unsupportable (and ridiculous) numerical hyperbole that runs up against astronomical fact to make themselves seem put upon in their public service (read "Don't criticize me! I am practically doing this for nothing!) , but even if we felt that the Council Members verifiably devoted 1,000 hours per year to City business, that equates to an annual pay package of about $84K, which makes Council member one bitchin' part time gig.