Council member: Salaries based on the position, not the person
To the editor:
Unfortunately, my opponent for Greenfield City Council, Donna Steele, has kicked off her campaign with negative attacks. In a recent letter to the editor and on her Facebook page, she attacked me over the proposed raises for the mayor and clerk treasurer.
As a relative newcomer to both Indiana and Greenfield, she obviously does not know the protocol and statutory requirements for setting salaries for elected officials in Indiana. This could be the reason for her inaccurate information.
We set the compensation for the position, i.e., mayor and clerk-treasurer, not for the individual. We take into consideration what is the appropriate compensation for these positions, not who holds the office.
With respect to the salary for mayor and clerk-treasurer, 50 percent of those salaries are funded by the Greenfield utilities — not tax dollars. Greenfield is unique since few municipalities own all three utilities (to include water, sewer and electric). This significantly increases the workload of those officials.
For the past few years, the council has tried to play catch up bringing those salaries in line with the responsibilities of the offices.
As for me casting the deciding vote — it could have been any of the seven of us. I just happened to be at the end of the roll call.
I pledge that I will not initiate a negative campaign, but I will respond when unfairly attacked. This campaign should be about our vision for Greenfield, our accomplishments, and qualifications for the position we seek — not about personal attacks.
Thank you for your trust in me.
Kerry T. Grass
District 5, Greenfield City Council
