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Civil service rules apply

The Spokesman-Review

I hope Mr. Kelly is happy Spokane County is laying off 150 employees (Letters, Dec. 6).

I spent over 30 years as a civil service employee in the criminal justice system. When I started in 1954, civil service employees’ salaries were 10 to 15 percent under private industry.

A lot of people take the lower-paying civil service positions for job security, benefits and retirement plans. People who start small businesses should know the risk they are taking before they start them.

I take issue with Mr. Kelly’s comments. It sounds like he is a person who was denied a civil service position or took on the risky business. The civil service scales are not perfect, so they will have to do until a better one comes along, and Mr. Kelly should accept it.

Ray Anderson

Spokane

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