Citizens, rightly or otherwise, are upset in Lindsay over the cost of their water and the pay of their City Manager.
Lindsay’s neighboring cities pay significantly less for their water, and pay their City Manager 40% less. At least one citizen seems to think there’s a correlation between the two.
From the KMPH Fox26 report:
“I mean their salary needs to come down,” says resident Alma Rocha. “If that’s what it’s going to take-so that our bills come down-like Exeter and Farmersville. They are paying $25 for water. I’m paying $155 a month!”
Hundreds of concerned citizens packed into the Lindsay High School Gym to get answers. A special session city council meeting was moved to the new location because so many people showed up. The community is outraged over water rates and the salary of a top city official. Read the full article here
[Editor’s note below]
I’ve looked at some of the statistics and can’t bring myself to agree with the assumption of Alma Rocha.
If compensation were dictated simply as a ratio of land area to population, then the Lindsay city manager salary, which is 40% higher than what Farmersville pays its CEO, would be dispropritionately high.
However:
- Lindsay has to buy water, where Farmersville does not.
- Lindsay’s municipal government staff is more than double the size of Farmersville (77 versus 31)… and, on average, actually pays less per employee.
It sounds to me like it is less the fault of the city manager, and more a function of other city services, and the fact that canals do not go through the city and the residents are forced to import it.