County manager raise is insensitive and ill timed
To the editor:
How often does something really set you off and you can’t get it out of your brain? For Women For a Better Lee, it is our county commissioners giving a 6% pay increase to the county manager.
We understand an annual pay raise is in Mr. Desjarlais’ contract since he met the “exceeds expectations” level (and, by the way, how did that ever happen?). However, the contract calls for a 4%-6% increase. With residents sleeping in RVs and still camping on their front lawns, and many more out of work, this insensitivity to the needs of those in Lee County is particularly egregious and insulting to us all. At the very least, the commissioners should have given him the minimum increase of 4%. Or perhaps the county manager will donate his $17,700 raise to a local charity helping hurricane victims.
Mr. Desjarlais now earns $312,700 (plus an estimated $35,000 in fringe benefits), while the median individual income in Lee County in 2020 was $29,562. This is just another boneheaded decision by our commissioners and the kind of cronyism they are famous for. The definition of political insanity is voting for the same people and expecting a different outcome so we really shouldn’t be surprised at this. But it still hurts.
Charlotte Newton
Women For a Better Lee