In an extraordinary move less than a week before the election, Fayette County Commission Chairman Jack Smith decided he could not sit on the sidelines any longer.

While Smith is not up for election this year, he rushed to the defense of his fellow commissioners late this week with a letter sent to The Citizen. Titled, “An Open Letter to the Citizens of Fayette County,” Smith offers a defense of some of the board’s controversial actions during the last 18 months.

Smith starts out the letter by offering a rationale for the timing of the document.

“Unfortunately, our current political climate mandates that something be said, and not meaning to disrespect my mom, the ‘truth’ needs to be told rather than the suppositions, personal opinion, idle rhetoric and, with all due respect, a total disregard for the time honored tradition of political discourse within the bounds of propriety,” he said.

Smith first addresses the recent $3 million in salary upgrades given to the county’s employees.

“Recent headlines would have you believe that County employees received huge pay increases. The facts are that employees overall did not receive huge pay increases. Employees making between $20,000 and $30,000 received the lion’s share of pay increases. Employees earning over $50,000 per year got an average of 1.5%. The Compensation and Classification Study conducted independently by the University of Georgia was the first such study conducted in more than 7 years, and the resulting increases will be implemented over a 3 year period. The vast majority of county employees will see their pay increase by less than 2 percent per year over this time period as a result of the pay study,” he said.

But former Commission Chairman Greg Dunn, who’s running against current Commissioner Robert Horgan can’t believe the county could give such raises in the tough economic times.

“Everybody else is cutting back, and we were doing fine giving our employees cost of living adjustments, which is something I fought for,” he said.

Smith also defended the recent vote of the Commission to offer a hybrid defined benefits retirement program for its employees.

“The FACT is that from 2000 thru 2006 employee turnover in Fayette County increased to 20% for the general work force and approached 30% for public safety employees. The reason cited by the vast majority of employees for leaving Fayette County was, ‘Fayette County is not competitive with surrounding jurisdictions.’ You probably did not know that the majority of our work force resides outside of Fayette County. The FACT is that due to this Board’s actions over the last 18 months, our turnover rate has decreased dramatically from its all time high in 2006 to its current level of 3.8%, saving the taxpayers millions of dollars in training and recruiting costs. The FACT is that the proposed retirement plan currently under consideration by the Board will result in annual savings to the County of approximately $550,000 per year, provide a better retirement plan than the one currently in place and both can be accomplished with a risk factor of minimal proportion,” Smith said.

But Dunn said the rest of the country is abandoning defined benefits plan because of the liability.

“In 2003, Henry County started their plan using the same company that Fayette County is using. They had a $2 million surplus in the fund in 2003, but this year have a $28 million unfunded liability.

Smith also took aim at those who say the county is acting fiscally irresponsible.

“The county will not increase taxes this year, unlike many other jurisdictions; yet at the same time we will be able to maintain current service levels and have reduced the Fiscal Year 2009 budget by over 6 percent, representing a reduction in spending of approximately $4.8 million – after implementation of salary increases. One should ask how is it possible to decrease the budget, maintain current service levels and not increase taxes given the current economy, rising fuel prices and increases in other operating expenses,” Smith said.

Dunn said the reason the county’s budget is lower this year lies in the capital outlays that the county chose not to fund this year.

Smith said the board saved money by not filling 23 positions this year and saved $1,200,000.

“We hired in-house legal counsel, and that alone has saved $400,000 in legal expense during its first year. We bid out insurance contracts rather than using a previously used intermediary, resulting in savings of approximately $900,000. We invested in sorely needed technology improvements, saving in excess of $100,000 in personnel costs,” he added.

But Dunn pointed out that those 23 positions will have to be filled at some point and the additional $1.2 million in salaries, along with $800,000 more in salary increases next year could create big headaches during next year’s budget cycle.

He also said the county is running up additional legal bills by farming out much of the county’s legal business because the in-house attorney does not have the experience of the former attorney.

Smith closed his letter by urging voters to look at the motivations behind some of the attacks.

“Those who profess that the state of the county is in shambles are nothing more than political fear-mongers making a feeble attempt to regain their lost power and influence by using distortions of facts, innuendoes and rhetoric to create a false sense on insecurity in those they prey upon.”