Measure Q detractors before passage of the 20-year three-quarter cent sales tax aggressively bantered about an argument that it was all a ruse to give the city’s nearly 500 employees “fatter” paychecks.

Elected leaders that placed the measure on the ballot and advocated for it, said that was not the case but made it clear Manteca could ill-afford not to pay dedicated municipal employees that deliver day-to-day services people rely on fair wages based on similar jobs in nearby cities.

It is why the council authorized a thorough wage survey tied to specific positions in a bid to avoid higher than normal job turnover, assure the city wouldn’t go wanting for qualified candidates for positions, and were fair to the men and women who make the City of Manteca work.

Two years later, many of the same Measure Q detractors have done a 180 degree turn.

They are now slamming the City for not giving employee groups the proverbial key to the municipal cash box.

Meanwhile, city leadership is doing what they said they’d do which is strike a balance when it comes to fiscal responsibility on the behalf of taxpayers, being fair and equitable to employees, and making sure Manteca can keep moving forward.

The change of tune of the hardcore anti-Measure Q crowd is stunning and hypocritical.

Perhaps that might just be misreading the room.

After all, you could argue they are simply haters of all things that are the City of Manteca.

Either which way, they are working mightily — even if that is not their intent — not just to create a wedge but to put Manteca back on the path to shaky financial times.

There are two employee groups that are pushing for a bigger piece of the tax and rate pie — Operating Engineers Local 3 and Technical Services Support.

And to make it absolutely clear, those two bargaining groups should push for the most they can secure in contracts.

But before anti-Measure Q folks get carried away with gleefully squirting jet fuel on the proverbial fire of labor negotiations, they might want to look at who would get burned if they manage to succeed in their scorched earth approach to the middle ground position elected leaders need to take so the outcome reaches a fair and equitable conclusion.

Manteca households on July 1 started paying $6.36 more a month for basic water service.

It is part of a multiple-year rate hike aimed at covering basic and essential maintenance and operating costs plus help replace aging pipelines and such.

That essential cost includes paying the people that 97,000 Manteca residents rely on to keep their water safe and flowing.

The same holds true of solid waste and sewer rates that are going up annually.

Why this is important is simple. If the city deviates much from wage hikes built into rate increases, it will cut into projects to replace aging sewer and water infrastructure.

That would then mean future rate hikes that will be determined in 2028 will have to be even higher.

As for specific city approaches to labor negotiations — which they have settled so far with five bargaining including police and fire — elected leaders have been guided by an extensive salary and classification survey, compaction issues when a lower tier employee group in a unit is almost making as much as the group above it, and the need to address other city operating expenses in a fiscally responsible manner.

In cases where the survey said an employee was at — or above – the median, instead of not giving raises as was recommended by a consultant, the city is basically offering 2 percent annually over the next three years.

When a position is below median, the have taken that percentage and divided it by three over three years to determine the annual pay offer with a cap of 21 percent.

That would translate into a 7 percent annually for three years.

If they are 18 percent under the median, it would then be 6 percent annually for three years.

For those more than 21 percent under median, they would be addressed in a case-by-case basis.

Compaction issues come in if you gave that maximum 21 percent in one year, it would force wage hikes across the board for workers in the next tier. Then rising that tier would force wage hikes above them.

It is a domino effect that ends up being costly and would deteriorate the city’s fiscal position.

Informational pickets such as the one planned this Thursday, Aug. 13, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Wetmore and Main gives you an emotional snapshot that is clearly legit.

What it doesn’t give you is the big picture and the burden the city has not to wantonly place upward pressure on sewer, water and garbage rates or cutting general fund service levels.