THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 10, 1994 TAG: 9407080263
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
City manager James W. Rein and the consultants that devised Chesapeake's new municipal pay plan call it ``pay for performance.'' It's a fine name.
The phrase implies that the folks providing the paychecks are getting top value for their money. It implies that hard work and initiative are being rewarded.
All of these are things are devoutly to be desired.
But calling a plan ``pay for performance'' doesn't necessarily make it so, as some municipal employees and members of City Council have noticed.
Under the proposal, salary ranges would be established for each job based on the prevailing market value of similar jobs in the public and private sectors. Future increases in pay would be based on a percentage of the median point of that range.
Critics say this could mean that lower-paid employees will move up faster than higher-paid employees, that recent hires would have an advantage over old-timers, even when the old-timers perform their jobs as well.
That's just not what you'd expect from a plan called ``pay for performance.'' by CNB