The Missing Aspect of Legislative Raises

Read the TimesDaily today? There was a very interesting article on the salary of state legislators. While the article touched on many points, including new members of the legislature who had no idea how "expensive" it was to serve, it left out one or two dramatic points.

Yes, your state representative or senator serves you 365 days a year, but that does not mean said lawmakers are in Montgomery those 365 days a year. Most of these lawmakers have jobs/careers in their home district. Many are attorneys; others are farmers--you get the idea.

Unfortunately, the TimesDaily article failed to touch on the fact that our lawmakers' income from the state legislature was hardly their sole source of funds. Specifically, Tammy Irons, Greg Burdine, Marcel Black, and Roger Bedford all own law practices--practices from which they usually earn income even while serving in Montgomery.

Further, the M. J. Ellington article failed to mention the infamous office decor funding that produced so much outrage immediately after the 2006 raise. For those who wish to see how Marcel Black spent your taxpayer dollars, here's a link to the invoice for the controversial objets d'art--scroll down to pages 5 & 6 for Black's items. Link

For those readers/voters who just want the bottom line, here's the total:

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Today's called meeting of the Cherokee Town Council has rescinded its intent of hiring new police officers. It seems they didn't know adding two new employees would result in mandatory overtime pay. Do council members not consult the town's attorney before wasting the town's resources on motions that must be rescinded or modified in order to comply with the laws of Alabama? It seems not.



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