Math versus PR

Most Clark County residents have probably heard that our county is having major financial troubles. Decisions at the state level, annexations by municipalities within the county and a bad economy with falling assessments have converged causing the county to struggle to perform even its basic statutory responsibilities.

It would be great if every office and every individual within county government would be willing to work harder and sacrifice more to make up the shortfall. At least one office actually has, the auditor’s office led by Monty Snelling. As this article details, Snelling has been proactive in streamlining the office, including labor costs, and doing more with less.

Employees have been let go or had their hours cut while arguably accomplishing much more than when the office was under the management of Snelling’s predecessor. Had all offices behaved similarly and all county employees been willing to similarly sacrifice, we might be signficantly farther along in managing the financial crisis.

Snelling has proposed that given the additional work his office’s employees are doing and the money the office has saved the county, his employees deserve modest raises. The math shows the raises could be given while still showing a net savings for the office. They would also be paid for with funds that were already allocated for the office’s budget rather than with any new appropriations.

However, this is politics, so forget the math. The raises were initially approved at a recent county council meeting but have now been placed back on the agenda and in question.

“That’s a good business sense vote, but it’s not a good PR [public relations] vote,” said Kevin Vissing, county councilman and recent Jeffersonville mayoral candidate, to the News & Tribune. “I knew better. I shouldn’t have done it.” Vissing, probably inadvertently, summed up the matter very well.

It is understandable that upon first hearing, these raises sound wrong. Other offices who haven’t been on the ball as much as Snelling’s are still trying to figure out where to cut. Employee benefits and insurance costs are among the costs possibly on the chopping block as the county tries to get a grip on its finances.

Yet emotions aren’t facts. Government decisions should be made based on business sense rather than PR. The facts and math say these raises are reasonable, maybe not ideally timed, but reasonable.

Instead of crying foul, perhaps other county offices and employees should peek into the auditor’s office to see what Snelling and his employees are doing right to be able to afford raises while saving money and staying under budget. The entire county would be better off for it.