Mr. Cook wrote an excellent article on the cliches of East Ridge. This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the internal workings of the East Ridge governing body.
I’m not great with dates, but back when I was in office 1998-2002 the city paid a premium price for a compensation and job description study by the Temple Group. This study was adopted and installed. The Mayor and Council had good intentions that this act would structure a competitive pay scale and hold employees accountable through yearly evaluations. To my knowledge this resolution was never abolished or replaced.
Unfortunately, many supervisors at the time let the employees do their own job descriptions rather than doing it themselves. This led to many getting unwarranted raises and new titles.
The evaluations were supposed to be done annually prior to the new budget so that adjustments could take place in that process. I don’t believe written evaluations have taken place in years unless it was needed to submit to MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Service) for the purpose of reclassification and pay difference.
Over the years many have ask for continued education which the personal policy makes provisions for. Most were denied unless, they were either being groomed for a position or already among the elite in charge
The city for years has posted they are a fair and equal opportunity employer. Title VI can be found within all advertised jobs. Sadly, only about eight percent of the 130 plus-or-minus employees are minorities. And, to my knowledge none are in a supervisory position. History shows however the hiring practices of many family members and friends have been employed without regards to Title VI or it’s impact to the community and existing employees,
In conclusion, let me say, people in political positions change and city managers come and go while the employees struggle to please both and the citizens. Mr. Cook hit the nail on the head when he stated the Cliché “you can’t fight city hall”
_ John Tilley past councilman and Vice Mayor
