Tuesday, May 25, 2010

County could freeze pay of some

This, just in from Tina Hill, McHenry County Board, Dist. 5:

"I wanted to give you an update on county news and business. Also, this morning in Finance & Audit Committee I voted to freeze both our constitutionally electd (sic) officials and county boad (sic) members salaries for 2011. Many may think this is an election issue. To me it is an economic issue. I don't believe we should be given taxpayer paid raises when many of our taxpayers are losing their jobs or taking pay cuts. Let me know what you think.

Tina R. Hill
McHenry County Board
District 5

Care to tell Tina what you think? Email her at trhill@co.mchenry.il.us

(Tina didn't mention what the vote of the Committee was...)

OK, here's what I think.

First of all, how can you do that to me? Just when I'm about the catch the brass ring, then you go with freezing my future pay! (Just kidding, Tina.)

Seriously, I'll go the Finance & Audit Committee one better. I think $140,000+ is too much pay for the sheriff's job (although it helps pay for three homes), and I think that so many MCSD employees at and over $100,000/year is too great a burden on McHenry County taxpayers.

So I'll request a lower rate of pay. Is that possible for a constitutional office?

2 comments:

Richard W Gorski, M.D. said...

I commend county board member Hill but why can't they receive the same compensation as so many of the people in McHenry County receive on various appointed boards:
Compensation: Zero
Benefits: Zero
Now that would be a patriotic move like the Founding Fathers of this country made and they would not be hung for treason if caught by the British...just kidding about the British part.

Politics has become a career and not a civic responsibility.

M.U.G. said...

That's a nice gesture but look the savings in salaries is nothing compared to the waste at the County. The moto up there is "spend it or lose it" come budget time. But this needs to be taken a bit further.

Cut the run-a-way property taxes. House values are down but taxes don't go down. I remember being at a CB meeting last year where just about the last statement made by an employee of the county was 'we will get our money one way or another'. That should have been 'we will get the taxpayer money one way or another'. And that was at a time when the economy was sinking along with house values.

All forms of government must learn to spend within their means. Nation wide they are spend, spend, spend crazy.

Once elected they [officials if you can call them that] seem to forget where they came from. Remember, WE THE PEOPLE.....?