Fancy facilities, pay hikes unneeded

Letter to the editor
Published: November 7, 2008

Editor:

Every time I receive The Madison County Eagle, I am informed that the Madison County Board of Supervisors has another expensive and questionable project on the burner. Board Chairman Eddie Dean, through most of his career as a high school coach, drew his salary and fringe benefits from the county. So, he doesn’t know how to economize or to save a buck.

But the remaining supervisors should have some know-how on how to run a tight ship — or have they not heard yet that not only Madison County, but the whole world, is facing an economic recession? It seems Madison supervisors have no concept of how hard it is today to make a living and meet monthly payments.

According to County Administrator Lisa Kelley, the county’s payroll from July 2004 to June 2005 was $731,105. Now, it is in the process of swelling — for the period from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 — to $3.15 million.

How do the supervisors solve this salary escalation? They raid the “rainy day” fund. This fund was not created to pay employees – it was created to help pay for disasters. County employees’ salaries are not disasters.

The yet-to-open Hoover Ridge athletic complex — which will be used less than 30 Saturdays a year by less than 80 students – already has cost in excess of $1 million and we’re still counting. I suspect Chairman Dean is hoping to get the name changed from Hoover Ridge to Dean’s Playing Fields.
Now we hear plans of an expensive school building project estimated to cost in excess of $40 million. The number of students in Madison County has been a constant for years and is not expected to increase. There is no need to extend the number of school buildings for more students.

The plan for a new school building also raises the question: What type of maintenance was performed in past years at the existing buildings? Every year millions of dollars were budgeted and paid by the Madison taxpayers for this. Didn’t the school superintendent make sure that the maintenance was professionally performed? Or, has the superintendent neglected her duties? The schools I attended were more than 100 years old, because they were well-maintained.

How long will Madison County taxpayers let this team of supervisors spend our money like drunken sailors? I think it’s time we let the supervisors know that Madison County needs jobs and reasonable housing — not fancy, unaffordable public buildings and more county employees.

Herbert Putz
Madison County