If only government employees were paid as handsomely as Columbia Association officers. Heck, if mere residents all could make as much, what a happy place Columbia would be.
But generally Columbia residents are paid nowhere near as handsomely as those they pay to serve them. In fact, they earn on average about 20 percent to 40 percent of what they pay their officers.
As The Examiner reported last week, five of the seven top officers at the homeowner?s association earned more than $100,000 in fiscal 2007; President Maggie Brown earned $207,973 with her bonus.
The average adult in Columbia makes about $41,000 a year, according to 2006 Mapinfo/AnySite Demographics.
As a private nonprofit, the group is free to set its own salaries. But the lofty salaries and fees it extracts from homeowners belie its “community service mission” and its commitment to fostering diversity. James Rouse, who developed the now 40-year-old Columbia, envisioned a community without racial, religious or economic segregation.
As members of a quasi-governmental group, homeowners have a right to think salaries would align with those of Howard County government employees.
But they don?t. The chief administrative officer in the county makes $154,000 a year.
Alex Hekimian, who heads the Alliance for a Better Columbia and released the salary data, said, “We don?t think the money is being spent wisely.” We couldn?t agree more.
As Howard County residents, Columbia homeowners pay $1.01 in property taxes for every $100 of assessed value. On top of that they must also pay a base “fee” to the Columbia Association.
That tax is $0.68 per $100 of assessed value on half of the property or about $1,579 on a home valued at $464,294, the average selling price of a home in Howard County in July. If you want more than CA?s basic services you pay more.
With that kind of fee only the wealthy can afford to live in Columbia.
CA spokesman Steve Sattler said the association uses consultants to determine salaries. Who cares. Common sense says the pay scale is out of whack with both equivalent jobs and community values.
Columbia homeowners should demand pay cuts from Columbia Association officers. They must also demand that the group post employee salaries and its budget online in an easily accessible portion of the Web site to allow
for better oversight of the association.
Transparency is a key way to ensure those charged with supervising Columbia reflect the priorities ? and incomes ? of the homeowners paying their salaries.
