So the question I want answered in the worst way is where will the $40,600 used yearly to line the pockets of the City Council and Mayor come from?
Are they going to cut police salaries? Public safety funding? Infrastructure? City employee salaries? Water? Gas?
Or are they going to raise taxes? This is the most likely explanation, as salary cuts would piss off a bunch of city employees, ALL of whom are registered voters. Tax increases just piss off most folks but can be levied at a time when it's not near an election so they're easily forgotten.
Most people believe that money grows on trees. It does not.
Warner Robins politicians may try to tell you that they can increase their salaries without cutting programs or raising taxes. They can not.
At least they're doing this legitimately and in plain view instead of skimming off the top behind the scenes.
The City Council meets Next Monday (the 20th) at City Hall, at 6:30 pm. I will be there with bells on... please come join me! I hope to be able to ask the above question and possibly speak a little.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Local politics
So it seems Mr. Terry Horton, the esteemed (sarcasm) Councilman currently occupying Post 3 of the Warner Robins City Council, who is representing (among others) me, has introduced an ordinance to raise the pay of the Mayor by $25,000 a year (a 25% increase) and his own pay, and that of the other Councilmen, by $1200 a year to a total of $6200. The ordinance will also increase the car allowances for all 7 of them (Councilmen and Mayor) by $1200.
This is a total new expenditure of $40,600.
For reference, an entry-level Warner Robins police officer makes $27,898.80 a year. That same entry-level officer does far more difficult and important work and quite literally puts his or her life on the line every single day he or she goes to work. The most important thing a City Councilman does is... show up to a meeting twice a month. The position of Mayor is, admittedly, a full-time job, but I fail to see how the person holding that job deserves to make nearly FIVE TIMES what his lowest ranking police officer makes. When's the last time the Mayor of Warner Robins served a no-knock warrant?
To make it worse, Mr. Horton is not running for re-election this year. He's leaving the Council. So why does he want to raise their salary?
Furthermore, what justification is there in admittedly difficult economic times to INCREASE government expenses, especially those expenses which have absolutely NO profitable return. $40,600 to raise the benefits of 7 people who sit in a nice, air-conditioned room twice a month is absolutely absurd. If we assume (probably wrongly) that there are 100 entry-level police officers in Warner Robins we could increase their salaries by $406 a year. That money would be spent locally by those officers and would... wait for it... STIMULATE THE ECONOMY. Or maybe we could use the money to improve city infrastructure, say expand the sewer and water service to another subdivision just outside the city limits and annex it, which would... wait for it... INCREASE TAX REVENUE.
But no. A bunch of smelly (OK, probably not, just making that up) old men need more money to sit around and HARRUMPH at each other. Instead of doing something about the problem, let's just throw more money at those in charge of trying to fix it. Wait, isn't that what government is for?
For the record, I'm strongly considering running for Post 1 (At Large) on the Warner Robins City Council. Weighing whether or not I want to put myself and my family through the wringer and out on display.
This is a total new expenditure of $40,600.
For reference, an entry-level Warner Robins police officer makes $27,898.80 a year. That same entry-level officer does far more difficult and important work and quite literally puts his or her life on the line every single day he or she goes to work. The most important thing a City Councilman does is... show up to a meeting twice a month. The position of Mayor is, admittedly, a full-time job, but I fail to see how the person holding that job deserves to make nearly FIVE TIMES what his lowest ranking police officer makes. When's the last time the Mayor of Warner Robins served a no-knock warrant?
To make it worse, Mr. Horton is not running for re-election this year. He's leaving the Council. So why does he want to raise their salary?
Furthermore, what justification is there in admittedly difficult economic times to INCREASE government expenses, especially those expenses which have absolutely NO profitable return. $40,600 to raise the benefits of 7 people who sit in a nice, air-conditioned room twice a month is absolutely absurd. If we assume (probably wrongly) that there are 100 entry-level police officers in Warner Robins we could increase their salaries by $406 a year. That money would be spent locally by those officers and would... wait for it... STIMULATE THE ECONOMY. Or maybe we could use the money to improve city infrastructure, say expand the sewer and water service to another subdivision just outside the city limits and annex it, which would... wait for it... INCREASE TAX REVENUE.
But no. A bunch of smelly (OK, probably not, just making that up) old men need more money to sit around and HARRUMPH at each other. Instead of doing something about the problem, let's just throw more money at those in charge of trying to fix it. Wait, isn't that what government is for?
For the record, I'm strongly considering running for Post 1 (At Large) on the Warner Robins City Council. Weighing whether or not I want to put myself and my family through the wringer and out on display.
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