To the editor:
In the May 3 article, “Resident questions council about spending,” the McDonald’s comment was a bit harsh, I admit. However, we must consider all county residents when we consider spending taxpayer dollars — not merely one group, such as county employees.
Study after study has shown that the vast majority of wage earners have not seen a real wage increase in decades. Pew Research wrote in 2014 that “in real terms the average wage peaked more than 40 years ago.” CBS Money Watch, in 2016, wrote that “reality is that wages and compensation have been stagnant for years.” Minimum wage earners have not seen an increase since 2009. Current minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Tipped employees (food service workers) haven’t seen a wage increase since 1991.Tipped workers earn $2.13 an hour.
At some point, we must realize that we cannot continue to raise cost/taxes for some taxpayers. They are tapped out.
CBS Money Watch also wrote in 2016 that consumer spending accounted for two-thirds of economic activity. How can those living paycheck to paycheck contribute to an economy if they can’t afford to consume? Debt is not the answer.
Brown County income tax is the ninth-highest income tax of the 92 countries in the state. Are we shooting for No. 1?
In the April 17 council meeting, council President David Critser stated that county income tax was high. He also stated that county tax rates had been restructured to include income and property taxes eight to 12 years ago. According to the documents included in the April 25 article, “Superintendent: Schools need to cut $1 million,” it appears that the young are fleeing the county and a large portion of the population is creeping up on retirement, with the retiree population growing by 58 percent in the past 15 years. This increase in retirees correlates with the drop in property taxes. This is not sustainable in my opinion.
I appreciate Mr. Critser for giving an estimated cost of a county attorney at $70,000 to $75,000. From the numbers quoted in the May 3 spending article, the county commissioners and county council are paying $48,000 combined to a law firm in Indianapolis. How many other departments are paying for counsel? At what cost?
Diana Biddle mentioned “conflicts of interest” in hiring a sole county attorney to counsel all departments. What conflicts are those that would require one county department to have an attorney in opposition to another county department attorney? If the departments could collectively hire one county government attorney, would savings occur?
While you’ve given me this platform, let me continue.
In another recent article, “Helmsburg properties bulldozed; local team charts future,” the Brown County Redevelopment Commission is presenting a resolution to the county commissioners establishing Helmsburg as an economic development area. This is an exciting step for the residents of Helmsburg toward economic growth — hopefully, resulting in community and personal wealth increases. Quoting from the article, “RDC members said they understand that community development plans need to be ‘a grassroots thing’ in order to be effective.” I agree completely, which is why I believe three to five residents of Helmsburg, and each area considered for economic development in the future, should be hired by the commission and given a vote in all decisions involving the area(s).
Thank you for the mention in the May 3 article. Apologies to any offended by my quick tongue. I have a strong passion for all in our community, especially those that are barely getting by.
Sincerely,
Sherrie Mitchell, Brown County
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