County Salaries Sparking an Uproar

* The gouging of taxpayers by county employees is nothing unusual. Rather, it is typical of the waste and abuse seen at all levels of government and a major reason why the size and cost of government must be dramatically scaled back from Ventura County to Washington.

While we should expect government to function at an even higher efficiency level than the private sector, that is, more effective work at lower cost, quite the opposite is usually true.

RON LUTEY

Camarillo

*

* Your story on the high salaries and benefits for county employees has certainly brought out the most hypocritical, insincere comments I have read in years. Incidentally, why did it not address the compensation paid to our supervisors?

First there was the statement of concern by Lindsay Nielson. Mr. Nielson fired me from the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn. to stop me from pursuing this issue in 1993. He stated I was being too aggressive in dealing with the corruption of the supervisors, which I uncovered in 1990. Mr. Nielson was on the committee that recommended a 30% pay raise for the supervisors in exchange for giving up some of their most objectionable perks. His concern is only for public consumption.

Then there is the quote from John Flynn: “We need to bring some controls to these things.” Hogwash! Mr. Flynn was one of the corrupt board members who voted for a plan that put public funds directly in their own pocket. They established the perks that not only increased the payroll for the staff, but also nearly doubled the take-home pay for the supervisors. Mr. Flynn voted to pay the supervisors for 59 weeks per year. He voted to give departments heads six weeks of vacation in their first year on the job, with a provision to sell back unused time--which costs the county about $9 million per year.

The supervisors established severance pay, allowing Maggie Kildee to take a $44,000 cash payment when she leaves office.

Now, all of a sudden, they are concerned. It is all so phony.

JERE ROBINGS

Ventura County Alliance of Taxpayers

Ventura

*

* To criticize firemen or deputies for getting paid for working their days off is unfair. Most people don’t work their days off for free. These are the same firemen and deputies who worked 12- to 16-hour shifts seven days a week during the La Conchita mudslide and the firestorms in the eastern part of our county.

County Supervisor Frank Schillo is quoted April 21 as saying employee “benefits have grown over the years--and we need a reality check.” What hasn’t grown over the years? The price of gasoline approaches $2 a gallon and bread $2 a loaf.

The reality check Mr. Schillo speaks of is the reality of a growing need for public safety. That’s where taxpayers deserve to have their money spent--not on a new, larger office for Mr. Schillo. Well, that’s an entirely different story.

Any deputy sheriff in Ventura County who even approaches $100,000 in salary earned it. Ventura County has one of the lowest crime rates in the country and we have possibly the best fire department in the world. That’s because our sheriff and our fire chief respect the wishes of our taxpayers and spend their money accordingly. Unfortunately, our politicians seem too “run of the mill,” just like everyone else’s.

GARY McCOLLUM

Newbury Park