I have been going through Jay town warrant articles and some budget articles. I was in shock to find a figure of $1,626,993 listed for wages for the 26 town employees, with $880,000 listed just for benefits.
And it seems that Verso has been overtaxed for years and wants some money back. Why should the town’s taxpayers be the ones to pay? Town officials made the mistakes, not the taxpayers. The town manager should be replaced, along with the manager of the town garage.
My recommendation is reduce town employees by 10 people and cut the remaining town employees’ wages by 20 percent; cut their benefits by 60 percent. I believe at least some town employees are due for a new contract with a raise in June. When is it going to stop?
I know no one will agree with me, so the only thing left for me to do is to vote “no” on any proposed town budget, and keep pushing for a “no” vote until everything is paid off.
Allen Hiltz, Jay
Send questions/comments to the editors.
