Whoa! Didn't mean to defame the big apple or start an e-mail war. The city
certainly has its cultural amenities. Its just that the last trip I made
there was very expensive. The cab ride from the airport was $63 plus tip --
maybe they took me via New Jersey. The lodging bill at our equivalent of a
motel 6 ran well over $200 a night (what does a Helmsley run?). Meals were
affordable in the smaller bistros and I found the residents (contrary to
popular mythology)  helpful and surprisingly cheerful as long as I stayed
out of rough neighborhoods (its the same in all cities).

My primary concern is paying living wages. To answer an earlier question, I
consider "comfortable" the ability to afford reasonable housing, medical
care, food, clothes and a modicum of entertainment and still sock away a
little for retirement. Despite the best efforts of those of us who fight for
our subordinate team members (who make achievements possible) this is
getting harder and harder to do.

I still hope the AAM will set regionally adjusted salary standards like the
ALA set years ago. Our City just finished a reclassification study. It was
easy to set a salary for our librarian by using ALA guidelines. The museum
positions were another matter altogether.

The broadly used AAMD survey (ART museums) was not really applicable to
historical museums and there was little else available. The "classification
consultants" hired by the City readily admitted that they did not know
anything about classifying museum positions and could find nothing. I had to
appeal two positions to get competitive salaries.

Best Regards.
----------------------
Byron Johnson, Director
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum
P.O. Box 2570, Waco, Texas 76702-2570
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]

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"...Unless a people are educated and enlightened it is idle
to expect the continuance of civil liberty or the capacity
for self-government."
Texas Declaration of Independence,  March 2, 1836.