By Jim Janes
Anderson resident
Madison County government is in a colossal mess, and the politicians will blame county workers. Working men and women in this county are under attack from this old, conservative political system that has been a total failure in Indiana, Madison County and the country.
When you look at the operation of county government, first it’s the county commissioners, second it’s the County Council. If what some county officials say is true the county, with all its budgets spends about $50 million annually, that means in the last 10 years, this old, conservative county government has spent half a billion dollars of tax money and all they have to show for it is a bankrupt county government. Are you better off now than you were 10 years ago?
When you see County Council member Gary Gustin making those motions to cut county workers’ pay and benefits, I don’t see Gustin, who is an Anderson city police officer, asking the City Council to cut any benefits he has in his union contract. I did not see the County Council ask for cuts in the $300,000 they pay a lawyer for rent on a building he could not rent for $10,000 annually on the private market. The building, called Happy Valley, is a work-release center, where defendants serve their time when sentenced, out of Madison County courts, to work release.
There is something wrong with county government when a politically involved private attorney is government’s first concern before county employees. Employees at the Madison County Government Center were ordered to take four days off without pay. County Highway employees were locked out from work for six days in October. County commissioners made sure they got their favorite roads paved before the lockout. County employees are now required to pay for their PERF Pension, which amounts to a 3 percent pay cut. With regard to PERF, the plan in Indiana had a $5 billion loss in the last two years; from $17 billion down to $12 billion.
A few weeks ago, Channel 13 TV reported that some appointees by Gov. Daniels to the PERF board were flying all over the world, staying in $600 to $700 per night hotels, for reasons that had nothing to do with the pension plan. But, don’t worry, those conservatives will take care of your money. Yeah, right.
If you talk to 10 property owners in Madison County, eight of them will tell you their property taxes increased. What is the county going to do with that extra money? County Highway workers pay about $40,000 annually in local taxes. Other county workers pay much more. County employees and private citizens have got to learn — you can’t starve your way out of bad government management. It’s time we change this old, conservative, third-world government in Madison County.
