Poll says incentive packages ‘too high,’ ‘appalling’

Reaction to the more than $ 70,000 in incentive pay the Hot Springs Board of Directors awarded City Manager Bill Burrough and City Attorney Brian Albright earlier this week hasn’t been favorable, according to an online poll The Sentinel-Record posted on its website and social media pages.

The newspaper asked readers to weigh in on the $42,494 and $29,465 the board respectively awarded Burrough and Albright after conducting their annual performance reviews Tuesday night. The extra compensation represented 25% of Burrough’s $169,977 base salary for 2020 and 20% of

Albright’s $147,326 base salary.

The poll stated the following question: “Do you agree with the Hot Springs Board of Directors’ decision to award bonuses to the city manager and city attorney?”

Of the 188 responses the poll had elicited as of Saturday afternoon, 89.4% disagreed with the board’s decision. The same percentage said the responsibilities and duties of the two positions do not warrant additional compensation.

Only a handful of the more than 60 written responses were in favor of the board’s action. Many questioned the timing of the payouts, given the financial insecurity looming over many in the community. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area had 15,000 fewer jobs from April to October than it did during that period in 2019.

“Everyone deserves some type of ‘bonus’ but really during this time it’s tacky, disrespectful and unethical for the board to allow this spending when people are losing their jobs,” a respondent said.

Another response acknowledged that Burrough and Albright have done “tremendous work” but questioned the timing of the payouts.

“The timing of this does not sit well during all time highs of unemployment,

packed food lines, maxed-out hospitals and families trying to salvage for Christmas,” the respondent said. “This is disgraceful to the nurses, teachers, police officers and cashiers being forced to wear a mask just to provide for their families. They’re putting their lives and families lives on the line, yet are they receiving $30,000 bonuses?”

Other responses echoed that sentiment, saying workers who deal more directly with the pandemic are more worthy of incentive pay than the city’s chief executive and chief legal counsel.

“As a front line nurse practitioner working two jobs with patients daily, putting myself and my family at risk, I find this absolutely appalling,” a respondent said.

Some respondents said the board neglected its fiduciary responsibility.

“Far too high of a bonus,” a respondent said. “The city should be better stewards of their money in these uncertain times. We’ll remember this if things get lean in a year or so.”

According to 2018 census data, both incentive packages exceeded Garland County’s per capita income of less than $ 27,000. Burrough and Albright also received the $1,200 end- of- the- year bonus the board granted all full-time city employees last month. For a city employee making $30,000 a year, the $1,200 bonus represented 4% of their salary.

“The bonuses are more than what we as a family of six live on for a year,” a respondent said. “While they are high ranking positions, the salaries are not even in the same ballpark as other city employees.”

Survey responses followed a similar pattern to feedback readers posted on the newspaper’s Facebook page. Only a handful of the comments supported the board’s decision.

Mayor Pat McCabe said he understood the rationale behind the outrage some have expressed.

“Certainly it’s mixed,” he said of the reaction to the board’s decision. “There are some people who understand it and the reason why. And there’s certainly those who don’t recognize the purpose or validity of it, and I can appreciate that as well.”

He said Burrough and Albright’s performance, which he described as “exceptional” earlier this week, informed the board’s decision.

“You have a small sample size, and you have to understand those who may respond to those types of polls,” he said of the newspaper’s survey. “I do not discount at all what the results of your poll is. I fully appreciate the sentiment of those people who took the time to respond. But the board assessed their performance, and the board made a decision.”

The survey is an open-access poll. Participants were not selected according to a sample reflecting the demographic and socioeconomic makeup of the community. Participants could respond to the survey multiple times.

“Our polls certainly are not scientific,” Harry Porter, the newspaper’s general manager, said. “They do however represent the opinions of a segment of the community. A community is made up of a variety of voices, and in regards to tax dollars, all opinions should be heard.”

The survey is available at https://www. hotsr. com/ city-bonuses-poll/ and on the newspaper’s Facebook page.