Will work for food
Published Sunday, December 2, 2007
How much should our elected leaders be paid?
Last year, Correction Corporation of America signed a deal with the county to build a prison that will cost $105 million to build with 300 jobs at a median salary of about $20,000 per employee. That's approximately a $111 million investment just in the first year of construction and operation - not counting the other jobs that will be spurred off from the new prison.
The Adams County Board of Supervisors get paid about $200,000 (Five supervisors at $40,000 a year each) in salary each year. That's $555 dollars of investment for every $1 we pay each supervisor. And that is just for the prison. If we sign a deal with Rentech the investment in the prison will look small compared.
Are we paying supervisors too much? You tell me.
Comments
Rentech will never happen!
Rentech does not have the financial "wherewithall" to pull off a 4 billion dollar deal.
I just hope I am WRONG!
For what the supervisors do? You better believe they
are paid to much. No wonder they want to homestead
the position.
If our police are struggling to make it on $24,000 a year, why do you think an average of $20,000 is a great achievemnet for jobs by the supervisors???
Isn't 300 jobs better than none?
The Census says that the median income in our area is about $18,000 and over 25% live below the poverty level. Considering that Southwest Mississippi is not likely to get a car plant or another industry that will have high paying jobs, I guess I would settle for $20,000.
My point was that if we are not going pay our leaders to go out and attract industry, then who is going to do it? The Southaven mayor makes $115,000 a year in salary - it is the fastest growing area in the state. Is that a coincidence?
Are you suggesting that we pay West 115M per year and will have companies salivating to invest in Natchez/Adams County?
I do not think so!
Just my oppinion but we SHOULD have kept Butch Brown. He was happy with his pay and did so very much for Natchez.
No but I am suggesting that if we pay our leaders little, they will do little. Personally, I wouldn't do the job for ten times as much.
I don't think West has proven he is worth $115K, but If I thought a leader for $115K per year would get us prosperity I would. I think Butch Brown showed he could get things done (He still does.)
The problem is we are in a part of the state that gets handouts not car plants. Why else do you think Haley gave us a prison. We can't complain that he didn't give us anything, right? Now he can go back to his rich buddies in the north east part of the state.
We need to look at what Butch Brown did, and how he did it. We need to also look at what are the overall goals of our present administration. If you will look at all the comments made in the last eight years, you will find that the group we have now wants to do away with the present tourism set-up more than they want industry. They do not have the smarts to understand that whether they like it or not, it did keep Natchez viable. It did not cause IP, the tire plant, or Johns Manville to leave; global economics did that. You have a tourism system in place, even though you think it is "white thing", quit trying to tear it down BEFORE you have industry IN PLACE. The pecan factory debacle was a slap at the historical society. If you will look at the overall actions over the last eight years, it was more revenge working to tear down than to build up. The idea is to sell off Natchez to tear down what has kept people coming for over seventy years. It is a sad fact that rather than show how it should be done to include everyone, they are as petty as the ones they detested. The poor whites and blacks really had no place other than service in the plans of the garden clubs, but even though I am one of the poor whites, I could see that our city had something unique to show the world for generations to come. It was a renewable resource, as the tourist aged, there are new ones aging. The garden clubs were slowly changing because world values were making them do so. New leadership needs to come who can see both the good points to this legacy and the bad points. Keep what brings the world to our doorstep, and change the bad points to better reflect our world today.
I, personally, do not think the present mayor or board of aldermen have the mindset to make Natchez progressive. They can change, but it would surprise me. I also think that the aldermen and supervisors are making too much money for the hours they put in. As for our mayor, the only thing I see him doing is delegating. Comparing us to Southhaven requires comparing cost of living also. Are they not a suburb of Memphis? How much does that play in?
All politicians are crooked that is as much a fact as the sun rises in the east. The best you can hope for is they accidentally spill some crumbs for the people paying the taxes they spend.
If term limited, they should get 50% more than those folks who spend 30-40 years at the tax trough in unrestricted elected positions.
Why they spend (or raise) 10x plus the expected salary to get elected and act like public "service" is the only job in the world tells you some ugly things... or should.
No elected official should ever be allowed to raise their own salary while they "serve".
They should all go home after 12 years. That means all (Congress, legislature and locals).
I think 300 jobs are great!! Those jobs will help 300 families...Now it is your choice if you would work for 20,000.00 a year if you won't someone else will.
As far as the Mayor of Natchez goes i don't think he's worth 15,000.00 a year must less 115,000.00 a year. What has he really done for Natchez? Looks to me like if they can pay the Aldermans what they do..They could cut there salary and give it to the police officers....Everyone fusses at what the cops DONT do, Kinda like in the statement above if we pay our leaders little they do little but, yet they don't mind paying the ones who are protecting us little!!!
I forgot, tell me again, WHAT did Mayor Brown do for Natchez? Please be specific.
Never too late, but I would like to know the answer to that myself, watcher.
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