Editor’s note: The following is an open letter to Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb.
Anan,
Rarely, if ever, do I read Wednesday Journal and get upset. That changed last night when I read the article below about Cara Pavlicek receiving a 19% increase in pay over the past three years (http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/2-24-2017/Oak-Park-manager-gets-$10K-raise). I work for a publicly traded company and even when I receive a performance review that is outstanding, the biggest bump I will ever get is 4%.
We are being asked to approve a referendum on April 4 that will bump up our taxes quite a bit for our children’s education. I am infuriated that this person is being paid $187,000 a year and my child’s education is now in jeopardy unless I cough up more in taxes. We already pay way more than anyone else in Illinois. I understand this is due to the fighting down in Springfield and failure to pass a budget, but seeing a salary like that in lean times is unacceptable.
Just out of curiosity, does Cara have stated and measurable goals she has to hit every year? If she has stated goals, is the degree to which she hits them tied directly back to her pay increases? Who decides those goals and how is her achievement measured? At 19%, I would expect that she went 19% over her goals over the past three years. If that is the case, then please do pass on her performance review and I will reconsider my position.
Amanda R. Jones
Oak Park
