A salute to our admin professionals

April 25 is marked on my (bank) calendar as “Administrative Professionals Day.” Well, there are a lot of them in our state and local governments. I ’spose we should honor these folks, the ones who actually serve us for four or five days a week, and in exchange for showing up get a handsome benefits package — full medical, retirement, paid vacations, personal days, etc. — as well as a salary from our tax dollars.

In Bremerton and Port Orchard and most of the county government, they only work four days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and get 36 hours pay, theoretically; that was the tax-saving idea behind the Friday furloughs. They get paid to eat lunch for an hour Monday through Thursday; then, like our new Poulsbo City Councilman Gary Nystul, who is also the Bremerton auditor, they stay home Fridays. But, in practice most of them make up to 40 hours and keep their former full-week salaries, because — with layoffs via attrition — they do a bit of “overtime” here and there. Thus, the local cities are still way over their budgets.

However, the Kitsap county courts, both District and Superior, work five-day weeks. You can’t give law enforcement a holiday because criminals don’t take one. (And they view all taxpayers as potential criminals.) I tip my hat to Poulsbo’s city workers and to most of the court hourly workers. In all my eight trips to Port Orchard in the last eight months,  I have found them at work on Fridays, and the judges have dispensed justice as they saw fit.On Thursday, I shall become a homeowner in Poulsbo and finish my old business in the courts on Friday.

Have a good week; enjoy the weekend.

Fred Springsteel
Poulsbo

 

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.