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Today's called meeting of the Cherokee Town Council has rescinded its intent of hiring new police officers.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 Do council members not consult the town's attorney before wasting the town's resources on motions that must be rescinded or modified in order to comply with the laws of Alabama?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.



Shoalanda

New Cherokee Town Hall: 35 Fire Violations

The new Cherokee Town Hall, a former Senior Citizens' Center, has failed its first fire inspection with a total of 35 violations. Here is a link to the five page inspection:

Occupancy Inspections Report

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From C.R.:

Violations

When a decision needs to be made, most people do research first and make at least two plans. Over the last two years the Cherokee City Council has shown little regard for research or forming an alternative plan before beginning a course of action. During the last city council meeting the Burger King Four (Councilmembers Malone, Glover, Franks, and Mason) decided to relocate city hall to the old senior citizens' building.

The senior citizens were located to a new building because the old building had flooding, mold, and fire code problems. If the Burger King Four did some research they would have discovered this before moving city hall to this location.

A State of Alabama Fire Marshal paid a visit to the new Cherokee City Hall located in the old senior citizens' building. The fire marshal found 35 building code violations. We will have to see how much it will cost to fix all 35 building code violations.

Consequences

During the last city council meeting the Burger King Four decided to cut benefits to the city's employees. This has caused several employees to look elsewhere for employment. It appears that two police officers are leaving soon. The loss of one officer will hurt the town. He makes most of the DUI and drug arrests. The criminals must be happy to hear this. Drug sales and break-ins will increase around the small city. The overtime budget for the police department is going to explode.

There is a city council meeting Tuesday night. Make sure to thank the council for their lack of planning and research.

Officer Ambien

We all heard about the Leighton Police Officer that took Ambien and shot at an invisible intruder. It appears that the Leighton City Council has grown tired of the officer and he is on the way out. Could a Cherokee Police Officer show up in a Leighton police uniform?

Political quote of the day: Good gravy, Gaddafi is crazy. He's talking like he's Charlie Sheen or something!

Shoalanda