Doin' the Jackson Juggle

Folks are beginning to call this year’s budget manipulations the “Jackson Juggle.” Don’t get me wrong folks. Not spending money that we don’t have is a good thing. The only problem is that we are still spending money that we don’t have.

Unlike what one commissioner said in the latest budget work session, it is not true that there are no salary increases this year—remember commissioners, this is the second year of the Mercer “fat cat” pay raises for the upper-level managerial employees. They received a significant; some would say exorbitant increase last year and are getting another exorbitant increase this year. Why do the lower and middle level people get their paychecks cut and not the “fat cats” also?

I can understand wanting to give money ‘back’ to the various agencies that came begging during the last budget hearing a couple of weeks ago. Shoot, it’s always good to be seen as magnanimous in your constituent’s eyes—helps to get votes. Besides, a little Christmas in July never hurt anybody right?

If you gentlemen are going to take money from the lower and middle levels of county workers to cut county expenditures why aren’t you going to take the “fat cat” pay raises away from the managerial employees also? One “fat cat” that I know of makes more than the governor of the state of North Carolina!

Commissioners, if you’re going to cut everything from county employees; everything except their jobs; it is important in everyone’s eyes, their pocketbooks, and in their votes come November that you cut out these “fat cat” pay raises for the managerial employees also. Then, if you want to have Christmas in July (as you seem to be doing), you can put on the red suit and white beard and go “ho, ho, ho” all you want. All county employees, all the citizens of Jackson County will accept nothing less than accountable, open and honest government.

These “fat cat” employees don’t have anywhere near the votes that us regular folks have. Or is there something else manipulating the political system in Jackson County? Remember gentlemen, those are our seats where you are sitting and there is still a pesky little thing called an election coming up in November. Barring that, there is always what John Locke called an “appeal to Heaven” (see “Second Treatise on Government”).

Addendum: Unfortunately the Jackson County commissioners voted Monday night to approve the budget changes that Commissioner Tom Massie essentially proposed. The commissioners took everything from the lower and middle level employees and left in place the “fat cat” pay raises for the upper-level managerial employees. It is true that Commission Chair Bryan McMahan and Commissioner Joe Cowan initially opposed the step cuts for county employees but at Monday’s meeting the vote was unanimous to approve the 2010-2011 county budget. With the current state of “politics as usual” here in Jackson County (political patronage—see how Edward Gibbon describes the manner in which the Romans practiced this system of payments and favors in his “History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”) regular folks like you and I don’t really stand a chance—at least until some real changes occur. Of course there’s always that “appeal to heaven” as a last resort.