by Dustin Schutte
Pharos-Tribune
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.
