Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2013 22:09:49 -0400
From: Brad Johnson
Subject: Chatham’s Numbers
Mr. Kirkman,
I too am skeptical of anyone who tosses out numbers and have found it best to do my own homework to verify. Fortunately, we can check the figures that Chatham Matters (or anyone else) mentions as they are available on the county website in the annual budget.
Since you mention point #3, the Sustainable Communities director cost to the county, I’ll address that. On page 150 of the 2010 – 2011 approved budget (passed by the Kost-Lucier board) you will see the details of the Sustainable Communities Director. You’ll see that the salary for the director is $96,000. Of course, total cost of personnel and a department is much more than just salary. You’ll also see that it is a department of ONE. The department requested a total of $185,054 for 2011. That amount was to cover salary, “other personnel Costs”, and operating costs, including a travel budget.
The final amount approved for the ONE person department was $167,286. However, the actual cost to the county in 2010 was $195,637. It appears that Chatham Matters split the difference.
Fortunately, we had three new commissioners elected in 2010 who stopped this in early 2011. I guess we could squabble over whether the commissioners saved us the $180,000 mentioned by Chatham Matters, or the approved $167,286 or perhaps more accurately, the actual $195,637. Either way, it was a heck of a lot of money for a one person department.
Just because you don’t believe “figures that conservatives throw out” doesn’t mean they aren’t correct. I urge everyone to do their own homework.
I would say the last sentence of your post is accurate: “if you are right about all of this, then Chatham Co. was in a lot worse shape than I ever knew”.
Yes it was.
Kind Regards,
Brad