It is unfortunate that the Yolo County Board of Supervisors last month decided to table their proposed pay raise. While Dudley Hollman (former Mayor of Woodland) threatened to put a referendum on the ballot, we do not believe he would prevail in Yolo County. Moreover, the Yolo County Taxpayers association would absurdly end up spending more taxpayers money to put on an election fighting this modest pay increase than would actually be spent on the pay increase.
There is a time for principle and fighting government waste (which a modest pay increase is not), but then there is a time for pragmatism. The Yolo County Taxpayers need to weigh those two values.
In the meantime, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors would win this fight if they fight on the principles of the matter.
Helen Thomson as we posted this week, gave a brilliant speech on why a pay raise was needed. She spoke of the need for people who were not independently wealthy to be able to afford to be County Supervisors.
We strongly urge Supervisor Thomson to bring the issue back up this session. The current County Supervisors deserve to be adequately compensated for their hard work. Future aspiring County Supervisors should look at the position as a means to serve their community without some of the sacrifice in terms of financial well-being. And the voters of Yolo County will be supportive of this pay increase as long as people like Supervisor Helen Thomson continue to speak passionately and forcefully on why it is needed.
The public is very generous when their public officials are open and upfront about the reasons for them seeking a pay increase. We again urge Supervisor Thomson to bring this vote back for reconsideration.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
There is a time for principle and fighting government waste (which a modest pay increase is not), but then there is a time for pragmatism. The Yolo County Taxpayers need to weigh those two values.
In the meantime, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors would win this fight if they fight on the principles of the matter.
Helen Thomson as we posted this week, gave a brilliant speech on why a pay raise was needed. She spoke of the need for people who were not independently wealthy to be able to afford to be County Supervisors.
"It is unseemly to be sitting here to talk about whether we deserve a pay raise. Unless you're independently wealthy or you are someone with a spouse with a very good salary, you can kiss off public life."Supervisor Thomson was absolutely correct in the speech that she gave. It was a brilliant moment of public discourse. Unfortunately, in the end she was unsure about pushing for the immediate pay increase. Both she and Supervisor Mike McGowan need to join Supervisor Mariko Yamada in supporting an immediate pay increase.
We strongly urge Supervisor Thomson to bring the issue back up this session. The current County Supervisors deserve to be adequately compensated for their hard work. Future aspiring County Supervisors should look at the position as a means to serve their community without some of the sacrifice in terms of financial well-being. And the voters of Yolo County will be supportive of this pay increase as long as people like Supervisor Helen Thomson continue to speak passionately and forcefully on why it is needed.
The public is very generous when their public officials are open and upfront about the reasons for them seeking a pay increase. We again urge Supervisor Thomson to bring this vote back for reconsideration.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
