close

LETTER: How much is too much?

2 min read
article image -

How many terms/years must a public official serve before he or she voluntarily steps back into the role of private citizen or moved on to another public position? How long will it take for the electorate to reject this nonsense?

Two of our three county commissioners have served more than four consecutive terms, and the third is seeking his third term, well on his way to career status. The country’s founders of our nation fought over whether there should be term limits or not, and indeed, there are positions in government which limit terms, mainly governships.

Someone (history is not sure who to attribute) is quoted as saying, “Politicians are like diapers: they should be changed often, and for the same reason.” It’s easy to support this recommendation in Washington County. Our commissioners have gratuitously allowed themselves to “earn” nearly $92,000 per year, which has increased from roughly $56,000 in 2003. Then, add on very good health insurance and other perks that come very inexpensively to them to make the full compensation well over $100,000. Nevermind per capita, the last I checked, the median household income in Washington County is $57,000. These same individuals meet in the daytime when the majority of working-class individuals cannot attend meetings. They also allocate taxpayer money to the same certain areas and cast off the rest of the county, as if it doesn’t exist.

Isn’t it time for our county to peg commissioner salaries and benefits to the average citizen’s? Isn’t it time for us to kick out career politicians who feed themselves richly from our pockets, and who may or may not even show up to the office? If it is, I strongly suggest you vote for someone other than these three. You have several options.

Tim Bilsky

Canonsburg

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today