THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 17, 1996 TAG: 9606140007
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 32 lines
A public outcry is sure to come as a result of Chesapeake City Council's recent decision to grant members a $10,000 pay raise. How many of us have the right to grant ourselves a pay raise?
There is something wrong with a system that allows this kind of outrageous financial featherbedding.
Yes, the council members probably did need to have an adjustment made in their salaries since they hadn't had a raise in 10 years. However, to make this leap to the maximum allowed tells us that we have some very greedy council members.
For the record, let's remember the following members who voted against this raise:
John M. de Triquet
John E. Allen
Alan P. Krasnoff
Dwight M. Parker
Certainly these gentlemen could use the money just like any other council member. What separates them from the rest is that they had enough common sense to see that a $10,000 raise was not only inappropriate but outrageous. Perhaps they will go one step further and ask for a voter referendum on this raise in order to get some public input into our ``government of the people and by the people'' here in Chesapeake.
DAVID R. BURGOYNE
Chesapeake, June 12, 1996 by CNB