Did Taxpayers Get Bitten Again?
I read in the "Pulaski Citizen" that there would be Holiday Closings, as there should be, in observance of Christmas and New Years. The announcement told about altered Garbage Collections and when the Pulaski Electric System would be closed. This information was very helpful and appreciated.
What was missing in the "closing announcements" was the County Offices. Nothing was stated about any County Office being closed. Of course we knew that the people in those offices not only were authorized time off but were very deserving of extra time off for such special events.
What came as a huge surprise was the fact that so much time would be taken off. The Courthouse and Annex with all it's offices closed Friday 23 December, Monday 26 December and Tuesday the 27th. Who knows what will happen for New Year's Day?
Is it reasonable that the Courthouse Offices be closed for such a long time when many have business that needs to be conducted. A twenty mile round trip to a closed Courthouse Office is very frustrating especially if it could have been avoided by a simple statement in the newspaper announcing closings.
There is another segment to this issue and that is the fact that county employees assigned duties in the Courthouse and the Courthouse Annex already are being paid for forty hour work weeks while only working thirty five hours per week. They already have what is perhaps the most lucrative pay and benefits in the County. How many places in the County are there that allows a person to retire after only ten years with over $500.00 a month of taxpayer money for life?
Isn't it time that the taxpayer funded County Worker come under the realities of life in the private sector? Is there such a great turn over among County employees that they have to be paid more and be given greater benefits than the private sector worker? It certainly isn't the fault of the County employee that their pay and benefits are so far out of line with the private sector, like any reasonable person they only take what is offered to them. The fault lies in a lack of a realistic, responsible examination of the pay and benefits that are currently available to many County employees.
What was missing in the "closing announcements" was the County Offices. Nothing was stated about any County Office being closed. Of course we knew that the people in those offices not only were authorized time off but were very deserving of extra time off for such special events.
What came as a huge surprise was the fact that so much time would be taken off. The Courthouse and Annex with all it's offices closed Friday 23 December, Monday 26 December and Tuesday the 27th. Who knows what will happen for New Year's Day?
Is it reasonable that the Courthouse Offices be closed for such a long time when many have business that needs to be conducted. A twenty mile round trip to a closed Courthouse Office is very frustrating especially if it could have been avoided by a simple statement in the newspaper announcing closings.
There is another segment to this issue and that is the fact that county employees assigned duties in the Courthouse and the Courthouse Annex already are being paid for forty hour work weeks while only working thirty five hours per week. They already have what is perhaps the most lucrative pay and benefits in the County. How many places in the County are there that allows a person to retire after only ten years with over $500.00 a month of taxpayer money for life?
Isn't it time that the taxpayer funded County Worker come under the realities of life in the private sector? Is there such a great turn over among County employees that they have to be paid more and be given greater benefits than the private sector worker? It certainly isn't the fault of the County employee that their pay and benefits are so far out of line with the private sector, like any reasonable person they only take what is offered to them. The fault lies in a lack of a realistic, responsible examination of the pay and benefits that are currently available to many County employees.
posted by Allen Barrett | 10:55 AM
45 Comments:
What can be done to change this.we don't make the rules.who is responsible?
Really simple.
Vote out the corrupt ones and stop the nepotism.
Everyone is related.
Pulaski is like West Virginia!
Why did you have to insult West Virginia?
Giles County is like Giles County unique in it's accomplishments and embarrassments. There is no one to enforce any rules or behavior except for the County Executive who is the leader of the corrupt pact.
If you work anywhere else, how is your day counted? Do you work all day without breaks or lunch? Most people are at work 40 hours but during that 40 hours you get a 30 minutes lunch and two 15 minutes breaks which means you work 35 hours. Are you paid for 35 or 40? If you work at a for 40 hours, paid for 40 hours and actually work 35. What is the difference?
Most people do not get paid for lunches!
When I was employed in an hourly position I worked 40 hours per week. Yes we did get a lunch break of 1 hour that was not paid; therefore I was "at work" nine hours per day. But, they do things differently in Giles County and have done so for the past 200 years.
You are right 8:05 but it's the county elites that 35 hours and get paid for 40, regular county workers put in full time. Did you notice that they were off again Friday the 6th.
You do not get paid for snow days not at work. Teachers are only paid for 200 days a year of work. 2 weeks vacation. Not paid for time when school is out. County should be like this too!!! I think they are!
NOT
Remember that teacher salaries are spread out over 12 months. Now the can choose in some places to have those pro rated to 9 months but 50,000 ( or whatever it is) over 12 months, 9 months or 200 days is still 50,000.
NEVER, ever, feel sorry for teachers...EVER!
2:40 that is not true in Giles ! A teacher is paired for 10 months of work. Their money is divide by 12 so as to have a check over the summer months. Why do you think teachers work at factories during the summers? Teachers here have no choice for 9 or 12.
Come on 4:15 teachers have the same salary whether they take that salary spread over nine months or twelve months. The yearly salary does not change based on which way they are paid. As for the county workers in the Courthouse they used to have the Courthouse open on Saturdays so people could get some business done without losing income by having to take time off from work. The Courthouse Offices were actually run as a service to the citizens, then the decision was made to close on Saturday and they have refused to increase their weekday hours to make up for the time for the Saturdays closing. It's not about serving the county, except during the election season, it's about convenience for the highly paid county officials.
The salary does not change but I do know that in order to make $50,000 you have to have gotten more than a bachelors and lots of experience. Teachers with bachelors, which is the majority, start at in the low $30's. As for the courthouse, when they worked Saturdays did they take off half a day somewhere during the week. They could have done that and rotated who worked Saturdays. I don't know the answer to that myself because I don't know anyone who worked those Saturdays.
Stop.
No wonder people around here voted for Donald Trump...they are so stupid.
"Low $30s" (no apostrophe is required) for 200 days of works is pretty good. And let's not forget that those days have paid lunch, paid study hall monitor, paid period release times everyday, so the amount of actual in-class teaching is usually only about 5 hours. AND! How much of that time is taking attendance, students doing seat work, etc.
What a sweet deal.
Stop whining!
8:01. Teachers get 22 minutes for lunch! About 1/3 an hour. That may be $3 or $4 dollars. And teachers pay double price for school lunch but get same as students who pay nothing!
Good God, 10:00, where the hell did you go to school? GCHS? Your math skills are horrible.
Assuming a 7 hour workday, and that is generous, At an average salary of $35,000 divided by 200 day work "year" is $175 a day. Divide that by 7 hrs and it's $25 an hour.
How you came up with $3 or $4 dollars is simply a reflection of how and why this country is in bad shape.
Oh, and by the way, there are 60 minutes in an hour so you can divide that $25 by 60, and, well, you can do the math. LOL.
To all concerned ....... please realize that any conversation that requires logic, common sense, or math cannot be done with your typical student or former student of the Giles County School System. They just do not have the intellectual skills.
Can I get an Amen
3:21, do you really think that teachers get to school at 8 and leave at 3? The buses get to school no later than 7:30, someone is there for the children when they get there. They also do not leave when the kids do, I went by Richland Elementary at 3:20 one day last week and some buses were just leaving. Also when do you think they grade papers, prepare lesson plans and put grades into the computer. There are so many regulations for teachers now that it is not funny. My sister get home between 4-5 at night. Also what about the harvest festival and that kind of thing that requires preparation time plus the night for the event. 7 hours is not what these teachers work. They make about what a factory worker makes and they went to college. They pay for insurance which factory workers do not usually. The only blessing is that they don't have the kids during the summer! Maybe go to the school and shadow a teacher to see what they do.
No. You must be insane or never been at a school much. Teachers at there usually 7-4 on a normal day. Did you forget to count prep time for the next day! 2-4 extra hours after school. NO PAY. FOR THAT. Most teachers days are 11 hours and not 7.
8:39 and 8:52. Please stop, you're embarrassing. I was a High School teacher for 36 years in another state, (Hint: it's in the top 5 states for education, not the lowest 5 like TN,) and I was at work at 7:45 and gone at 2:30.
I guess the kids of TN take more time. LOL
Again, to all who read this, do NOT be deceived. Never, ever feel sorry for teachers. I was one so I can say that!
to 8:39 ... this ia a quote from you statement "My sister get home between 4-5 at night."
Boy ..... you must have been in the top of your class; especially in English. You did done real good.
? "this ia a quote from you statement"?
We know what they say about those who live in glass houses.
Sincerely,
Graduate of Giles County High
My goodness, this was not about teachers it was about the courthouse being closed and the workers getting paid for 40 hours of work when they only work 35 hours. Teachers whether over paid or underpaid at least knew what they were getting into when they took the job. Courthouse workers have finagled a 35 hour work week while complaining about being underpaid and deserving more pay and benefits while already enjoying the best pay and benefits in the county.
This post is about "county workers" and that is what GCHS teachers are. Yes, the courthouse people are taking advantage of the incompetence of county officials but nothing compared to teachers. They have it made.
And when they whine about this or that suggest they do something else and see how fast they can turnaround in their complaints.
NEVER, EVER feel sorry for teachers in Giles county!
Ha. January 18, 7:34. You have just won the prize for the most ignorant post ever written on this blog!
No 6:57! You are number one with yours. Did your mama keep you at home everyday and "home" school you? I think you missed your 200 days.
GILES COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WILL CONSIDER A NEW SERVICE FEE FOR USE OF THE COUNTY'S SOLID WASTE CONVENIENCE CENTERS ON MONDAY. COUNTY SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING DIRECTOR JULIE PHILLIPS EXPLAINED THE PROPOSAL IS FOR AN ANNUAL $35 FEE ONLY FOR THOSE WHO USE THE CONVENIENCE CENTERS. THE FEE WOULD ALLOW A USER TO UTILIZE A HANG TAG TYPE PERMIT FOR VEHICLES ENTERING THE CENTERS AND WOULD BE GOOD FOR ONE YEAR, FROM JULY 1ST TO JUNE 30TH. THE PERMITS WOULD BE BASED ON A PROPERTY HOUSEHOLD ADDRESS SO A USER COULD TRANSFER IT TO DIFFERENT VEHICLES REGISTERED AT THE PROPERTY. THE MEASURE WOULD PROVIDE FUNDS SPECIFICALLY EAR MARKED FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE CONVENIENCE CENTERS AFTER THE COUNTY ESTABLISHED A SPECIAL REVENUE FUND TO MAKE THE PROPOSAL EFFECTIVE. COMMISSIONERS WILL CONSIDER THE FEE DURING THEIR REGULAR SESSION MONDAY MORNING AT 9 AM AT THE GILES COUNTY COURTHOUSE.
Wheel Tax next?
A wheel tax would be great. All the people who are running around tax free would have to pay something, they don't own property and they don't pay income tax. Everybody keeps talking about us behind 200 years behind and how many Tennessee counties do not charge a wheel tax. Get with it folks!
All the school employees about to lose a job don't want to pay a wheel tax. The wheel tax doesn't get us caught up, it only allows for more undercover spending by the county's leaders.
I did not realize that many teachers would lose jobs. There are always some that are not capable and are let go. How are we having undercover spending when everybody voted in the Financial Management to stop that.
The county continues to lose students. Rather than keep teachers, a raise of 1.5% is given to those who are not losing their jobs. Even administrators are going to be cut, now that the director hired more than he needed. The blind leading the blind and getting worse.
Who lost jobs when pink slips were handed out yesterday?
Did the GCHS principal attempt to hide the sex offenses of the substitute teacher? Did they also fire a teacher with great test results because he refused to coach football? There are so many questions that the leadership needs to answer, both at GCHS and the director.
The GCHS principal is a pawn of the director, our next director and totally controlled by the football folks!
Graduation rate increases from 83% to 90%. Just look at how the grades were given to students all year and sure the rate increases. Pass everybody is the goal of the administration. The only seniors that did not graduate were the ones that were missing lower level courses.
A new high school with the present leaders is like the Titanic headed for that iceberg.
No to a new high school. Who can pay for it when the county has financial problems already?
Another football person promoted at GCHS. When will the insanity end?
Not just there, but a football coach's wife hired at the Central Office to replace Cindy Young! It does not stop. They think the public will support a new high school just to say they have one. How ridiculous. The new person promoted at GCHS shows favoritism towards the guys. It really will be bad now.
Building a new high school is like putting lipstick on a pig.
Wishy washie board members voted to have students use their phones in school a couple of years ago. Now, they say they are disruptive to the process. Someone tell me why they did not see that two years ago when three of them from that board advocated vehemently to allow students to use their phones in school. I recall Mr. Smith telling them that very thing. Yet, they insisted that he draw up a policy with their final approval that allowed the students to cause disruption in class with phones. Brilliant!
Look like the powers that be have decided to have a meeting about the new school and they gonna have it on August 12 that a Saturday at 8 in the morning. Who gets up at that time on Saturday if you don't gotta work? Why they not having it in the week at night so people can be there? Guess last time they had a meeting at night so people could be there the hole building was full of mad people.
Only the football people who want a new high school will show up. No one else wants a new high school until it is justified. Let's tell people the buildings are falling apart. Did they board and commission just decide to put hundreds of thousands into upkeep, yet, let's build a new building because I want one. Crazy decisions by block headed people.
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