Pay No Attention to that Man Behind the Curtain

Often times the old cliché from “Wizard of Oz” fame comes into play and we just can’t help ourselves to spread the word.  So, down at Cincinnati City Hall, as lay-off notices for police & fire are being prepared, there seems to be some a lot of  questions about just how much members of the city administration bring home in their paycheck each week.

This week, local TV station WLWT ch 5 did an in depth report asking the question, “is the city payroll too heavy?”  Of course they started right at the top with City Manager, Milton Dohoney, Jr.   His nearly $300k total compensation certainly raises eyebrows.  When asked about it he said his salary “was not out of line” with managers across the county.  Well, fair enough except that when WLWT dug a little deeper they found Dohoney’s paycheck was among the highest…..so in essence Cincinnati is leading the charge for inflated bureaucrat salaries.

Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney, Jr.

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Recall that back in the Fall of 2012 City Council saw fit to give Dohoney a big fat 9% raise PLUS a $35k lump sum payment kicked in for good measure.  This all happened of course as the city was facing a record deficit with no clear exit strategy.  And let’s not even talk about the spiraling out of control streetcar costs.

So there you have it folks, while the city faces a growing budget deficit (currently $35+ million) and police & fire layoffs just around the corner, you can sleep well at night knowing we have one of the highest compensated city managers in the nation at the helm.  Excuse me but I think hear reality calling from behind that curtain.