By Eugene Slechta | Fountain Hills
I wrote recently that our newer council members are not working for residents and the town's best interests. Well, they showed that bad behavior once again.
At a recent town council meeting, agenda items included proposals to vote themselves raises of over 80%, while voting for only a 2.5% increase for town staff. Inflation is expected to be around 3-1/2%, so it appears the council’s thanks to our town staff is, essentially, pound sand.
However, there was some good news! A slim majority of council members, including McMahon and Kalivianakis, decided 80% increases for themselves was ridiculous, especially in light of the lost battle they fought for town employees.
Worse yet, recommendations made by our fire chief for funding that would benefit the automatic aid program, which would likely speed up emergency response by surrounding fire departments in support of our community, was deferred until next year. Cross your fingers, as this fire season is expected to be an exceptionally dangerous one!
These failings by our council are reprehensible! Only council members McMahon and Kalivianakis voted wisely. Council members Skillicorn, Toth/Larrabee, Friedel, Watts and Earle voted their own interests. Let's be clear, budget impacts would be minimal to accomplish this. And again, you only need to watch the video on the town website or on YouTube. They cannot hide from the embarrassing exchange by some council members. We all need to call them out when they fail us.
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