County workers undervalued

Of interest to me, but not surprising, was the recent decision by an independent panel of citizens to award the Spokane County commissioners a 19 percent pay raise. Whether the commissioners deserved the raise was decided by the panel. More to the point is the continuing undervalued worth of the rank and file.

I spent 36 years working for Spokane County dating back to early 1970’s. In all that time, I saw this type of pay raise inequity over and over. Sometimes it was the result of a “panel” study. Other times it was the result of politics and/or the supposed lack of funds. The ill will and morale issues among the undervalued cannot be overstated. My guess would be county spokesman Jared Webley and county Human Resources Director Tim Hansen are very well compensated.

I would hope when the time comes for the next contract negotiations, the Board of Commissioners, the Human Resources negotiators and those who control the county purse strings remember the county employees who do the dirty work and perform the nuts and bolts day-to-day duties and reward them with a paycheck commensurate with their duties.

Terry A. Hontz

Spokane