Well tickle me pink - the 5%, 6% and 7% raises got reported!

As some of you may know, the White House press corps has something of a reputation for lobbing softballs at the POTUS. Why? Simple - they want to maintain access to the person they cover. If they lose access... they could lose their livelihood. Or at least the President (or his surrogates) could make that particular reporter's life more difficult for a time. So often a reporter has to make a choice between reporting real news or avoiding certain things that may prove problematic in maintaining access.

I sometimes wonder if the same dynamic exists in Cheshire.

Anyway, I give a big hat tip to the Herald's Josh Morgan. Despite Town Hall's best efforts at avoiding the public disclosure of certain information, such as the town's nearly two dozen take-home vehicles that get free, unlimited gasoline... if you ask questions in public and on-camera... it becomes increasingly difficult to keep information hidden by a veil of secrecy.

And the steady drumbeat of questions finally got some exposure for a particularly troublesome issue in this week's Herald:

Republican Councilor Tim White said he was “still scratching” his head at raises of 5 percent to 7 percent that were given out earlier this year. He said everyone knew last July that “things were bad.”

Regardless of the source (me), I certainly would have thought twice before including that highly important piece of information in any press coverage. A reporter never knows how a Chief Executive will react when the light is shed on an Administration.

And seriously... 5%? 6%? 7%!? In this economy?!As we enter collective bargaining,* is it reasonable to believe the unions will begin by saying... "oh yeah... though we don't like our boss and he got a 6% raise... we'll take this one for the team and agree to a 1% raise this year. Sure. We hate coming to work, but again... we'll take this one for the team."

I thank the Personnel Committee Chairman for his sagelike foresight that gave us these 6% and 7% raises this year.

And btw, when you see some Town employees getting those raises, anyone else think that just maybe the teachers felt jilted?

We need some leadership in town. We've been without it for too long.

Tim White

* The typical three year contracts all expire on June 30... though it is not uncommon for contracts to be inked after June 30 with backpay being delivered after the contract is adopted.