Editorial: Distribute the wealth

Money doesn’t grow on trees.

It certainly doesn’t grow on the ones that line the streets of Statesville, though some city officials would have you think otherwise.

Right now, the city council is apparently sitting pretty with their budget — so much so that City Manager Rob Hites asked council members to consider spending $150,000 (plus the cost of benefits) to hire an assistant city manager and a staff attorney.

The staff attorney position makes sense if you eliminate the annual fees and retainer paid to City Attorney Eddie Gaines, who has made hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years.

It might be difficult to convince the council and taxpayers that Hites needs an assistant or deputy manager.

After all, less than a month ago, the R&L reported the city decided it couldn’t eke out enough cash to give raises to some low-ranking employees — most notably, firefighters.

If there’s not enough money to boost the pay of firefighters, it’s tough to make the case for adding new administrative positions that require a new funding source, isn’t it?

We don’t doubt Hites is "over-burdened," as he told council members at their retreat last week.
However, according to the 2007 public payroll report, Hites receives an annual salary of $120,347.

We think the city’s firefighters — many of whom don’t even make $30,000 a year —would agree that figure probably makes his workload a bit more bearable.

If money did grow on trees, we think firefighters and other rank-and-file employees denied a raise this year should get dibs on the green.