Editorial: How convenient for Westmoreland commissioners to fund their own raises but not retirees’
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What is good for the goose is good for the gander, they say.
The adage means what is applicable and appropriate in one area also is applicable and appropriate for a comparable scenario. Make a gravy to serve with that goose, and it will probably taste good on a roast gander, too.
But the Westmoreland County commissioners don’t seem to think the tasty gravy that was poured on their own paychecks would be very good on someone else’s.
To be more specific, while the commissioners received a 3.5% raise for cost of living this year thanks to an ordinance set decades ago by a completely different board of commissioners, they don’t believe there is room in the budget to give a similar increase to the county’s 1,400 retired employees.
“This is a very difficult budget and one where we couldn’t afford to do a COLA this year. Difficult decisions had to be made,” Commissioner Ted Kopas said.
Kopas has been open about the county’s financial state. He criticized November plans to fill budget shortfalls by draining much of the county’s fund balance — essentially living off savings. That was changed to a substantial tax increase.
In December, Kopas called for a cap on raises for elected officials after the latest adjustment resulted in a 17% increase over three years. But Treasurer Jared Squires countered that criticism, calling it self-serving and grandstanding. Squires also received the raise and also sits on the county’s retirement board, which made the decision regarding retirees.
To be clear, pension funding is complicated. Commissioner Doug Chew was, doubtless, correct in saying that earnings in 2023 just didn’t make the increases possible.
However, it takes a special kind of moxie to pocket your own raise and then tell others there just isn’t enough to go around. That’s especially true of Chew. He began his political career with the county on a promise of donating 60% of his then much smaller paycheck and never made good on the vow.
If the county’s financial position makes it impossible to give raises to retirees, that’s understandable. But if that’s the gravy ladled onto those geese, the commissioners need to take a gander at their own raises.