..........And like most everything else in the country these days the numbers are going higher.
We were notified via email about the new higher salaries from the property appraiser's office--which sent an email requesting a budget ammendment to cover the higher costs of the elected property appraiser's salary.
Here is the EDR salaries calculation report rom last year (page 10-11), as well as the addendum that memorialized the new pay scale for Florida Sheriffs from April.
Locally, it appears as though the constitutional officers (Supv. of Elections, Sheriff, Tax Collector, Clerk of the Court, and Property Appraiser) will all receive about a $10,000 increase starting 10-1-22, with the Sheriff having received a larger pay bump earlier in the year after the session, and with the BCC and School Board Members receiving smaller commensurate increases of $6,000 and $4,000 respectively.
The interesting phenomenon which will naturally occur next is this:
Some, and I emphasize that word, some really disjointed, angry, jaded, cynical, hateful, pitiful, and spiteful individuals (like the former PNJ cartoonist and vice-editor Andy Marlette and 10 or 11 individuals on one facebook chat site) will go absolutely apoplectic over ONLY the Escambia BCC's state-set salary increase------------------ and yet they'll be silent and/or be quite content that all other
statewide elected local officials got pay increases.Every other elected official and class of elected official deserves their state-set salary----except for the Escambia County Commissioners! That's what they will tell you with a clenched fist, nervous twitch, angry eyes and an uneasy smirk.
It really is fascinating to watch them fixate. Andy and the foil hat brigade. Fascinating--- and yet utterly predictable.
But what Andy and the rest of them need to know is what the rest of us have known all along:
Our salaries are set by the state, not by us.
9 comments:
Justifying the unjustifiable. Give the power to the citizens to determine the salary of the BOCC.
There are far more full-time employment positions (LEO's, teachers, nurses, EMT's, military members, etc.) deserving of that type of income over a part-time County Commissioner with other income. Who decides your salary matters not, it's the fact that you all are part-time employees is what what makes your salary so offensive.
Anon--4:55 so you think all 67 counties in the state should set the salaries for the constitutionally created commissioner position in each county? What about part time school board members? what about part-time city councilmen? Should they receive no pay? (Here is a newsflash for you: these are NOT part time jobs. They are all-encompassing. I get calls, texts, FB messages and emails 24/7, 365). I think that is why the legislature sets the pay for these vitally necessary and oftentimes thankless positions based upon a set formula based upon the sizes of the counties. When I was a school board member for 10 years I often thought of how challenging that position was--because like County Commissioners---School Board Members work lots of hours and are always on-call. Those are not part time jobs either--if the members are doing the job the right way. So the predictable crowd of 10-12 only take exception to the Commissioners of Escambia County salaries, but no one else in the state. Alice Hurst Neal: these are not part time positions, not for those of us who take this seriously. Look no further than your hero, Doug Underhill, who himself has often proclaimed and bloviated from the dais the number of hours he puts in to prep for meetings and attend events. Interesting how he was passionate about defending his worth and value before he made the decision not to run again. (which was smart because he knows he could not ever be re-elected again in Escambia County given all of the ethics problems, lawsuits and drama he has festered in his time of service). Only now as he is slinking out the back door under clouds of lawsuits and ethics charges does he whip you up to think these are part time positions. And folks like you lap it up like whipped cream on a hot chocolate. Fascinating the way he controls a few strident supporters. Fascinating.
As much as I hate to deviate from the topic at hand, I must. Commissioner, you clearly have me confused with someone else. Commissioner Underhill--for lack of a better way to put it--hates my guts and I pretty much feel the same way towards him. (Okay, "hate" is a bit dramatic but you get the point.) Even though I reside in Perdido, he was not my Commissioner. I have always been in D1. I'm thrilled to see him go.
What's "fascinating", sir, is that you think everyone opposed to the BOCC salaries shares the same brain and talking points. You could not be more incorrect.
Support charter government Jeffrey. Let the citizens decide. Over 75% of Floridians live under charter government. What are you afraid of?
Anonymous 9:37--that sounds strikingly similar to what the downtown stockbroker guy told tried to convince me of a few years back in my office. And I told him straight up no way, no way. It would be an absolute train wreck to give all the power to one strong executive, which is precisely what that would do. And the downtown set, a handfull of them, would like nothing better than to only have to get things past one person, rather than dealing with five individuals that represent the entire county's interest district by district. Remember, the community moved away from this form of "One Guy" having all the power when they joined the rest of the world and dumped the "Boss Hogg" ELECTED superintendent. No, charter government does not have three votes to move forward on the BCC I do not believe--and I certainly don't support it. I lived under that sort of scheme for 10 years with the elected "strong" superintendent who completely, totally blew off the board and only did what he wanted, and who was hyper-focused on his agenda and often times did the exact opposite of what his five board members wanted. No thanks to ever going to that backwoods system again. Remember, giving that much power to one person has a corrupting effect. Lord Acton said it best: "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" No thanks to an elected administrator. No way.
Now Jeff, I guess if you cant argue with facts then you might as well spew more bloviating BS. Even you know that a charter government does not necessarily mean a “strong mayor”. Most of the charter counties in FL still operate under the council manager format. You continue to intentionally skew the argument with ridiculous comments such as Boss Hog when that couldnt be further from the truth. The City doesn’t have a dictator and neither does the US, the State of Florida or any of the counties that do have a Mayor/Council form. The POTUS nor the Gov not the Mayor has sole power. A good system prevents that. The School board didn’t have a good document that identified specific powers of each branch. But his again is apples and oranges. The comment above said that a Charter government would allow the citizens to decide the Salaries of the BOCC as well as other issues that would give us local home rule control. Instead of defending your position on that you instantly go off on a tangent that isn’t even part of the discussion. Baffling with BS Bergosh. Please tell us all the real reason you wont entertain a charter even though more than 75% of Floridians live with one.
12:13--What has been pitched to me is much different that what you describe. That's #1. Number 2 is simple: Bringing in a totally different form of government is akin to a solution looking for a problem. Nothing gets solved nothing magically gets better if a charter is implementd that actually seeks to reduce some powers Escambia County has currently as a non-charter county under the constitution. No, what you describe seems rational on its face--but the ugly truth is there is a cabal determined to "install" a new form of government in the whole county centered around the concept of bringing a strong, elected administrator to Escambia County. Dress up the issue all you want, doesn't change what you want and what the truth actually is: You want a quicker, express-route to power via having one guy to get through rather than 5 to ramrod stuff through the government locally. It won't happen I don't believe--because the losers in that scenario would be the non incorporated areas of the county as more services and tax revenue would be siphoned off for the interests of a select few in the city limits. No thanks, like I said in my office when this was first pitched by the stockbroker, its DOA if it comes before the BCC. Now, if we want to talk about BS, as you imply in your caustic, accusatory, and non-factual remarks above about me, then I'd simply disagree and I'll tell you you are wrong, disingenuous, and deceptive and you know it. Talking about BS--based upon your inaccurate, inarticulate pitch I'd say you sound like a BS salesman with a mouth full of samples. I'm not buying, go pitch it to someone else.
Jeff, why do you continue to argue an issue that isn’t being discussed. This isn’t about changing the form of government. You refuse to say why you are opposed to a charter when over 75% of Floridians live under one. You said I am wrong, disingenuous and deceptive. How? I simply asked why you are opposed to a charter and you continue to go off on tangents to deflect from answering the question. As pointed out above, the vast majority of charter counties in Florida use the council/manager system that we have today. For once, please answer the question that has been asked. Why are you opposed to a charter?
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