Bring public employee pay back in line

A story published on May 11 highlighted the exorbitant, taxpayer-funded salary paid to Grayslake Village Manager Mike Ellis, who took home more than $259,000 in 2011.

In the story, Grayslake Trustee Jeff Werfel referenced a December 2010 Illinois Policy Institute study describing ways that the village has cut costs.

We applaud the financial efficiencies that the village of Grayslake achieved. However, we do not support paying government workers salaries that are dramatically higher than what taxpayers earn.

Worse than Ellis’ $259,000-plus salary is the fact that taxpayers will be on the hook for a pension based on this salary for many years after Mr. Ellis is done working for the village.

An August 2011 study by the Institute found that the average compensation of a state worker is $69,500 — 23 percent higher than the average private sector worker in Illinois. Likewise, the average compensation of a local government worker is $63,100, which is 12 percent higher than the private sector average of $56,500.

Governments must right-size public employee pay, Grayslake included.

Diana Rickert

Illinois Policy Institute

Chicago