Fri, Nov 20 2009
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Published October 31, 2009 09:38 pm - My basic complaint is council members’ salaries and benefits. YOUR VIEWS: Council members are overpaid Special reports Special to the Daily Times GLASGOW — Dear Editor,
My basic complaint is council members’ salaries and benefits. All, as far as I know, are business people or have other employment. Why should we as citizens of Glasgow pay health and dental insurance for part-time employees of Glasgow to the tune of $86,493. We, the people of Glasgow, have no say in what the mayor or council are paid. A past council member told me when he served on the council he was paid $10 a meeting if he was there for the meeting. The mayor was paid $150 a month. How did the salaries get to where they are today? Did the mayor and council vote themselves these kind of raises and benefits? It looks to me like we have an Enron and A.I.G. going on in Glasgow. Why does the council decide how many should serve on council? I am 80 years old and this is the first time I have attended a council meeting, and what en eye-opening it was. On Oct. 12, the meeting lasted 20 minutes, and on Oct. 26, it lasted about 30 minutes. At the present rate of pay it costs us, the citizens of Glasgow, about $683.32 for each council member for less than 30 minutes work. Not bad for pay for a part-time job. What does it take to wake up the people of Glasgow who are paying the bills when a lot of full-time workers do not make this kind of money, if they had a job? P.S. One council member said the money did not matter. If this is so and they are serving as public servants, why do they not donate their pay back to the city during these troubling times? Charles Hawkins Glasgow Council size is fine as it is Dear Editor, I had been meaning to write a letter that was pro Glasgow City Council. With the recent discussion of reducing members and pay cuts I felt I should do so. In the past few years, I’ve sought advice or help from three members.They easily could have told me they couldn’t help, or to call someone else. Instead, each went out of their way to be helpful. These members, I’m convinced, really are in it to serve and be an asset to the community. Just good people trying to do right by citizens. I wondered how many people in Glasgow don’t know we have representatives like these. These members were among the eight who voted for keeping the current council size. That was the correct vote. As long as Glasgow has members with the character I mention, we are in good hands. Reducing the size of the council would reduce the chances of having their kind to serve. This would only hurt Glasgow. Just as two heads often are better than one, here 12 heads are better than seven. A more representative council, rather than less, should help guide the city into its future. I understand that this is a “part time job,” and indeed, if all members do is to show up for a vote their current salaries and benefits are more than adequate. However, I’m sure those who assisted me are just as open to helping others. This takes time and effort on their part. They should be adequately compensated. Having city leaders like these is a priority. 
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