Nonprofits and salaries
Recently, I had a conversation with a friend regarding the salaries paid to executives of nonprofit organizations. In a nutshell, she was adamant to pay for their services, and as non-profits, they should work for free as volunteers.¶
Through the years I’ve been involved on non-profits boards and whenever that topic was brought up, we dealt with it the way private industry does. If you don’t pay a decent salary equivalent to what the market requires, they run the risk of pushing the employee to look for another company where his or her skills are properly compensated.
There’s another problem, the issue of loyalty and honesty. If an organization settles for someone less than qualified for the job just to save money, the work may not be up to the legal, ethical, or moral standards they would expect. We see it often enough in the news and that’s why government agencies keep an eye on their submissions and order.
I have been proud to serve on boards that run like clockwork and our job has been only to receive reports that everything is marching along as expected. Their executive directors or CEOs were highly qualified and properly compensated so that they would go nowhere else.
In case of doubts, google how much CEOs get for pay and you’ll find they go into the millions annually. The IRS has a list online that will show you company names and amounts they receive.
Council’s budget hearing
I have mentioned before that I watch the city council meetings as much as possible because l want to be informed, but it’s not for pleasure. Sometimes, I yell at the TV, I –call them names that I won’t dare do in person, and other times, my blood pressure hits the roof.
You may say I’m an idiot for putting myself through that but at times it makes me think that l must clarify something that was said. This was one of those times.
Octavien Spanner was discussing the budget in the mayor’s office when the councilors jumped up over the increase in the advertising portion. Octavien started explaining what the mayor is doing differently this year and where the money is going and l was already screaming.
After a few minutes, Stephanie Infante (who doesn’t like me) interrupted to clarify the difference between “advertising” and “marketing.” I was glad she did because I’m sure they were thinking, and many people in the audience and at home watching, that most of it is going to Rumbo. After that, Octavien responded very meekly, “Do you want me to separate them.” And I yelled out, “OF COURSE!”
Still, I’m willing to bet that most people believe that every article and picture about Lawrence in Rumbo is a paid ad. We publish everything for free except what’s an obvious promotion from the city such as job openings or lots for sale. That’s the difference between an ad and a Public Service Announcement (PSA).
Methuen Community Television
You will find on page 10 a well-deserved recognition given to the local television station of Methuen by our legislators. If you have Verizon in Lawrence, you can get their channels. Watch the programming of their government or community channels and you’ll realize what we are missing here, even though we pay the same to the cable companies while getting no service.¶
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