LOGANSPORT —
Clerk-treasurer Ruth Ellen Bland has turned down a $500 pay raise for next year.
Bland said she never asked for the raise and was not even aware of the proposal until she learned of it at a city council finance committee meeting this month.
“The first time I was made aware of the raise was at the meeting,”
she said. “I never asked anyone, and nobody asked me.”
Bland said she wouldn’t feel right about taking a raise during such tight economic times.
“Why would I want an increase when nobody else gets one?” she said. “That just wouldn’t be professional.”
Mayor Mike Fincher had included the raise in his salary proposal, noting that it would bring Bland’s salary in line with that of Deputy Mayor Linda Klinck.
“I realized that with longevity, Linda was getting a little bit higher pay,”
he said. “I offered Ellen the money, and she turned it down. That’s it.”
Fincher said the salary difference arose because Klinck, as an appointed official, qualifies for longevity pay for the portion of her salary paid by Logansport Municipal Utilities. Bland, like the mayor and city council members, does not qualify for longevity pay.
Bland suggested that a better approach to even the two salaries might be to give Klinck a slight pay cut.
Bland is a Republican. Klinck, like the mayor, is a Democrat.
Republicans have a 4-3 edge on city council.
“The city has to do what it has to do,” Klinck said. “If it’s necessary for me to take a cut, I am willing to do my part.”
Klinck, who took on the additional responsibility of city zoning officer this year, said the decision would ultimately rest with the council.
“They’ll do what’s best for the city and let me know when it’s time,” she said.
• Dustin Schutte is a reporter for the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at dustin.schutte@pharostribune.com or (574)-732-5148.
Local News
Logan clerk-treasurer turns down raise
Bland says mayor hadn’t asked her about the offer
- Local News
-
-
Galveston students honored for gun decision
On the afternoon of April 24, two Galveston fifth-graders riding their bikes down Washington Street saw a handgun half-hidden among a pile of dead grass on the side of the road.
-
Honoring the fallen: Area Memorial Day ceremonies echo our freedoms
It was a beautiful 75-degree morning as young and old lined East Broadway in Logansport in front of the City Building, with just enough wind to prompt Old Glory to dance during Monday’s Memorial Day parade.
-
Police battle fuel prices
Cass County Sheriff Randy Pryor gets briefed on a lot of things daily, including crime on the streets and activity in the jail. But there’s one email the first-term sheriff watches closely that most law enforcement officials don’t get any training on.
-
State pushes convenience stores to up safety practices
In 2002, after New Mexico forced convenience store owners to put sweeping security measures into place for clerks working late-night hours, the number of robberies dropped by 92 percent, and assaults, murders, and other crimes at convenience stores dropped dramatically.
-
Not forgotten
A plaque in Mount Hope Cemetery near a flagpole dedicated to those from Logansport and Cass County who served in the World War reads: “Let those who come after see that these men shall not be forgotten.”
-
LHS freshmen ace algebra ECA
Logansport High School administrators were “ecstatic” last week over results from the statewide algebra I end-of-course assessment that showed passing marks for all the freshmen who took the exam.
-
Logan man hands Indy 500 winner milk
Logansport resident Dave Forgey remembers listening to the Indianapolis 500 on the radio as a kid while his cousins and siblings would gather for a picnic.
- 2012 Lewis Cass graduation
-
Former LPD officer Leal turns himself in
Former Logansport police officer Carlos Paul Leal was arrested Friday afternoon on charges of theft, and officials Saturday said the counts stem from two separate investigations.
-
9-1-1 dispatchers will soon be able to text
Cass County dispatchers will be able to text callers starting this summer — a move that is reflective of where emergency communication services are heading nationwide.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
