In an ongoing display of incompetent leadership, the Democrat-led city of Anderson has the community’s blood boiling over higher fees and taxes.
Rebuild Anderson, the eponymous, bipartisan group recently posted City Salaries for 2009 on its web site.
Surprisingly, the list includes three husband-and-wife teams collectively taking home nearly half a million dollars.
The city has already levied trash fees and hikes in the water, sewer, and electric rates. Then came an increase in the County Option Income Tax (COIT). Now, city officials are pitching a Local Option Income Tax (LOIT).
Mayor: Traditional Cuts Won’t Work
Salary cuts are always a last resort for Democrats because cuts endanger the public perception of them as champions for the common worker.
It’s a sham. Propped up salaries not only reduce the budget but also eliminate employment opportunities for capable and qualified workers.
If we could reduce the salaries of the city’s Top 10 earners by 5 percent, we could save $40,745 — nearly enough to hire another police officer or another firefighter. With the city’s finances in such dire straits, perhaps deeper cuts among the Top 100 earners would get us where we need to be?
Former Mayor: It’s a Financial Train Wreck
“The Ockomon administration is a financial train wreck,” former Mayor Kevin Smith said in a June 9 interview with the Herald Bulletin.
Since leaving office, Smith is now a business owner, media producer and radio host of the program Kevin Smith Reports heard Saturday mornings on WHBU 1240 AM.
“In 2005, I outlined these exact same issues where we called together the employees, we explained we had a reduced revenue stream and we took proactive measures,” Smith said. “We publicly announced and documented the decrease in revenues the city was facing, including the pending legislation House Bill 1001, which capped property taxes. By 2010, we knew the city had $5 million less.”
Power-Hungry Democrats
For Democrats, salary cuts are never an option. Instead, they prefer to blame the previous administration and make the case for layoffs, wage freezes, overtime cuts, and increasing insurance deductibles.
Democrats ignore the economic reality of regular hard-working citizens being priced out of the market by over-compensated employees. Willing to do anything to protect the salaries of their political cronies, power-hungry politicians cannibalize the city’s budget. They would rather service themselves by reducing services to you.
In contrast, a conservative fiscal policy helps hire good people willing to work harder for reasonable compensation. The Ockomon administration clearly lacks the business savvy that could propel the city forward.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Under the previous administration, the Personnel Director made $61,000 +/-. Under this administration, the Personnel Director makes $75,000.
Why is this administration paying $80,000 for a controller and $80,000 budgeted for a contractor. We have two people doing the same job. That’s $160,000 for doing one job but yet fees and taxes are being put on the citizens.
I encourage everyone to call their council people and show up at the city council meeting to voice your opinion. Only the citizens can stop this.
We must hold the city council’s feet to the fire on this issue.