It’s a good time to be looking for money in the Park County or area municipal governments, because it hasn’t been hard to find the extra funds for raises for employees. 

While some may look into a more cloudy future and worry about a downturn making those higher priced employees harder to keep, those hiring right now say they need those raises to keep their current staffers employed. 

So more than 6% average raises heaped upon county staff, along with raises in the city and school district, can be seen not just as rewards for a job well done, but as preventive medicine against losing good employees and then having to go through the added costs of finding others. 

So, while I’m all for lean government, I think those in departments who for years were cut just about to the bone ought to be paid well for sticking around. As County Clerk Colleen Renner said after logging the affirmative votes of the commissioners to approve raises, at the entry level end of the pay scale, potential county employees have been having to choose smaller paychecks to shun fast food restaurants for a county gig. 

And yes, it’s true city and county government, not to mention state and federal, generally makes up for lower wages with much better benefits. But at the entry level, Renner noted, many young people aren’t thinking of retirement accounts and nice health insurance policies. And, as she said, for people making $15 or less per hour, benefits aren’t helping to pay the bills which have gone up due to inflation. 

And, like it or not, wages are determined by the market and the arc of capitalism trends toward higher wages. Remember the Fight for $15? Now it’s hard to find a service industry business that could afford to pay less than that anyway simply due to market changes, even prior to the current inflationary crisis. 

Cities and counties may still be able to beat out some private employers by offering better benefits and a similar wage, but they’re losing out in trying to argue that lower wages are made up for by better benefits. 

Governments shouldn’t be over inflated, but they should work well, and I for one am happy to have the tax dollars I already give go toward better compensating those who are there and doing the job well.