Shame on the Greedy 7
Re: area directors want pay raise:
With the idea of a 12 per cent increase in my taxes, along with all the other inflationary pressures I face daily, I am angered to see politicians lining up to give themselves a 30-plus per cent raise.
There was a time when serving your community as an area director, or councillor was done with an awareness that some sacrifices were part of the work. The job was to make a difference and to solve community problems.
It seems that now there is both a growth of top-heavy local government and the desire to get paid for serving.
With layoffs at the Crofton Mill, cutbacks of tech jobs, runaway inflation, and an anticipated recession, these area directors who want a 33 per cent pay increase are clearly out of touch with reality. Any family or senior on a fixed income has to make difficult choices and survive on a budget. Shouldn’t our leaders, in the first year of their four year term, show leadership and compassion by also getting by with what they have? Being able to give yourself a wage increase while raising taxes reeks of self-serving greed.
Area directors and councillors around the province are expected to put in between five and 20 hours a week for their “work”. It should not be a full-time job, and anyone who feels it should be needs to learn to say, “no” more often, and get themselves organized. This is not Toronto, or Vancouver, it is little old Cowichan.
I thank politicians who put themselves forward to better the community; to do their bit. It is a sacrifice to serve the community in politics, but it should not be a trough to enrich oneself. Shame on the Greedy 7 who want to enrich themselves while raising my taxes.
Bruce Norman
Duncan
