Once again you have citizens complaining about work that was done with state grants and blaming it on the local officials. The money that was put toward the downtown improvement projects in Fayetteville was used with state grant money. Its a project to improve the overall look of the downtown area and try to keep that hometown feel (please save your comments about the crime rate and the Pavilion, you knew this was coming). The street lights and benches will add a nice look to the downtown area and I am really happy to see the improvement. Ben you should try to research your facts before you raise complaints on a local newspaper that already has WAY too many cry babies.

The (seemingly too close together) light posts, the brick crossings, benches and the sidewalks came out of the city of Fayetteville's budget, over which Pfiefer and the commission exercise no control.
Don't quote me on it, but I'm pretty sure that the majority of the money spent on that downtown beautification project came from federal grants.
Also, the city of Fayetteville under Ken Steele and Joe Morton is the county wide model for keeping taxes low while securing the best possible value for the taxpayer.
The county, Peachtree City and Tyrone could all learn something by talking to the folks who put together Fayetteville's budget.

My prediction: an August 5th runoff between Hearn and Kourajian for post 3. Pfiefer is way out of touch and I for one sure won't be voting for him (or his cronies Dunn, Fuhrman and Wells) on the 15th.

This is good information. Now the millage rate will drop and we will all get lower tax bills. Oh, wait this is not true. So what you are saying is that there was so much fat in the county budget last year that they could give the raises AND cut this year? If they had cut the budget last year, and this year, then they could have rolled back the millage rate like they did the 6 years prior to the present board being in charge of the budget. That ain't happening.

By the way, the reason that you have not seen a decline in service so far is because this is NEXT YEAR'S budget.

Since Fayette County is not in "NEXT YEAR'S budget" until July 1, you are only partially correct here. OK Big deal, the millage rate was decreased 6 years ago, kodos to the standing commission of the time. You can not be blind to the facts ... inflation is rising, government salaries are not keeping up. Your ideologies are common amongst anti-governmental beliefs and spending. It takes money to run a government entity. We really should cut spending where we can. Should we hire someone who is "Lean Six Sigma" certified? Let me define that for those who are not savvy with the idea ... Lean Six Sigma auditors are those who can "cut the fat" from any angle of expenditures: excessive spending, salaries, and positions. So for anyone who really wants to see the numbers, please look for them: you will find that Fayette County is performing to and or above the same standards as surrounding counties all the while employing less personnel. So there is very little that Lean Six Sigma standards can save financially in Fayette County. The fact that many County Employees are performing duties with older and sometimes antiquated equipment due to the recent budget cuts says the county has done its diligence. So as a taxpayer, I will do my diligence and support the pay increases for County Employees. I want trained staff available when emergencies arise. I would rather a veteran in service than a rookie in training when I get carted off in an ambulance, or a fire strikes near my home.

Since Fayette County is not in "NEXT YEAR'S budget" until July 1, you are only partially correct here.

That would actually make him/her 100% correct since they stated that there is no way to know of any decline in services due to the new budget since it hasn't started yet..

OK Big deal, the millage rate was decreased 6 years ago, kodos to the standing commission of the time.

The poster stated that the millage rate was decreased the last 6 years, not just 6 years ago.

You can not be blind to the facts ... inflation is rising, government salaries are not keeping up.

Inflation declined in 2007 from 2006, so why would government salaries need to "keep up?"

Thanks for voting against the budget. That will help drive the rest of the "good" employees to better paying jobs. Now we can better spend the County's budget on training new hires. We will train the new hire to be happy with income shortfalls. We will also train them to shut up and take what is given to them, or they too can leave (darn, gotta train another one). Why can't County Employees afford to live in Fayette County, you do the research ... they don't make enough to compensate their expenditures. About you not being able to afford your home, I can only blame you. Everyone want to "keep up with the Jones". Everyone wants to live in a nice home, who wouldn't. Everyone wants to drive new cars, I too am guilty. BUT common sense should prevail, you still need money to live on. Leave the credit cards in your pocket, don't overspend your personal budget. Simple ideology really, if you can't afford the maintenance of a purchase, you can't afford the purchase. Meaning, I can afford to buy an expensive vehicle, but the "up-keep" is too costly; thus I won't buy the vehicle. I can afford to buy a "really nice" home, but if I can't afford the taxes and the maintenance repairs & insurance, or the projected taxes in years to come; I can't rightfully say I can afford the home. Inventive loans (creative ARMs with balloon pmts) have placed more homeowners in homes that they would never be able to afford under conventional loans. But we can't blame ourselves, can we. We could afford it then, just not now.

Some jobs have salary caps ... only some county and BOE employees make "good" money ... how many of these people who want this increase live in Fayette?

Salary caps: They are already in place in Fayette County. Some of the employees who have been here for a decade or more have not had a raise (except COLA, and that's not every year) in many years, and this new raise gave them very little more.

Some making "good" money: Define good. What do you think is reasonable for the head of public safety (top guy over fire/911/animal services) to make? Or the head of animal services? Or a Captain with the fire dept? Or a Capt with the Sheriff dept? Seriously, I'd love to hear what everyone thinks!

How many county employees (both with the BOC and the BOE) live in Fayette County? That's a good question! The majority that I know, don't. They can't afford it.

How about you give back to your employer 30% of your pay and benefits ... we can call this Corporate Waste Recovery. And please, revolt against your taxes, better yet don't pay them ... just make sure you post you physical address so everyone has an equal opportunity to bid on your home at the next auction. OH AND BY THE WAY, governments historically earn on average about 60% - 70% of the salary and benefit packages offered by private industry. So instead of the 30%, match government employees at the 40% pay cut; then log back in and complain about government waste.

I don't know if it the open records law applies to county government pay scales, but it should, shouldn't it? As a taxpayer I think so!

What do we pay our law enforcement, fire, ambulances,

I think starting pay for the Sheriff's dept was about $34K, not sure now. And starting pay for a level 1 firefighter (who is also an EMT) was about $32K. A 911 operator/dispatcher was starting at about $24K.

They certainly are subject to open records laws, even individual names and compensation. Simple enough to get, though why didn't Peter Pfeiffer say "boo" about this big pay raise before? That's typical of Pfeiffer...he gets something right AFTER the fact and then jumps up and down. When it is actually going on, he says zilch. Same thing happened with the open meetings cluster where he sat there silent until a later date.

A defined benefit pension plan is a terrible idea, but since it's the taxpayers that have to foot the bill, those people get to decide whether commissioners who think it's such a wonderful plan stay in office or not.

Tyrone's salaries are over the top, and if you pay yourself a little extra, oh well.

I agree, thanks peter

and i dont even know you,

but at least at this point you are putting income and output on a scale and seeing that they do not balance out
im sorry that county and city employees dont make much i used to work for the county and i did not like the pay and i left for more money

can not keep good people (sorry) no one can if the pay is better somewhere else.

But if boils down to you can not spend what you do not have and the citizens of fay county do not have any more sweat to give right now

back off the budget and re think it ERIC

shadowalker

For the past year and a half the county has been under an "unbiased audit" to see what other surronding counties were being paid and why Fayette County was losing so many qualified people. The raises that were given out were long over due and only brought the county up (or near) to what other counties are making. There is an old saying that your heart REALLY has to be in your work if you decide to be a teacher or county employee. Bottom line, these fields will never get paid what they should for what they do. My hat goes out to the rest of the commissioners that had the guts to try and right a wrong.

Our teachers make less than surrounding counties, but are not playing this game.

The teachers have no more to do with this "game" than the county employees do. So if you want to call it a game, then it would be the BOE that isn't playing, not the teachers.

However, I don't call it a game. And I wouldn't have a problem with the teachers being paid more, either (even if I, the taxpayer, have to pay more taxes), because I know they deserve it just as the county employees do.

I do not agree, in my industry no one is getting rasies, the county is paying people off the backs of persons that have not recievd pay increases. and are paying out more for everything.

im sorry you can not keep people. that is a fact of life in any job markey. if the cost of living goes up and the people paying taxes do not get a cost of living allowance then how do you justify a pay raise to public serivce workers. YOU CAN NOT.

you need to go back and rethink where the money comes from

And ERIC Maxwell needs to stop playing and think about the population has a whole Eric you are grandstanding yourself just by making that comment

shadowalker

county employees keeping up with what other counties are paying. There is a real cost to the county when trained employees leave to go to other places. These are jobs that must be done. I would guess that most private sector jobs already pay exponentially what these county employees are paid anyway.

We should all just work for free. After all, we are called "public workers". I really don't know what I was thinking!
Just remember that the next time you have to call a cop, fireman, or any other public service SERVANT that hopefully they have read your comment and give's you the amount of service that they are PAID to give.

you make a stupid comment

if they give me poor service they have a greater issue.

i servered in the military and put my life on the line many times

and it was BY CHOICE. knowing the poor pay

this is simple 123 addition

you can not continue to suck dry the main source of income

the local population is not getting that great a pay raise

look at the forclosures.

your stupid

shadowalker