At this time in our county, when we are faced with more and more complicated issues and need more input, we are cutting our county commissioners from 3 to 2 1/2 . (Do the math.) Freeholders voted to have five commissioners, however, working them only half time and half price through the proposal to cut the commissioners’ salaries to $53,000 a year. Currently, the cost of three commissioners is about $318,000. The cost of five commissioners at half-pay of $53,000 times 5 equals $265,000. As former Commissioner Marc Boldt stated, half-time pay and half-time work does not solve our problem. Do these half-time people work at the same time or part in the morning and part in the p.m., or are we asking them to volunteer extra time?
With our growing county, we need five full-time commissioners, paid a fair wage. If we want professional, dedicated people, they should earn a living wage.
Joe Beaudoin
Vancouver
