Letter: Kudos to county for withholding incentives

Graphic by Lori Deaton

Applause for the Buncombe County government and Board of Commissioners for holding Jacob Holm Industries and Linamar accountable for not meeting their contractual obligations [see avl.mx/5am].

The penalties will help them learn to not walk on the taxpayers who fund their profits and excessively high management pay. It serves notice that companies aren’t entitled to just take our tax money and then blow off their end of the deal.

If the county is paying these corporations, then the county is their employer and has the duty to hold them accountable when they don’t benefit the taxpayers. The advertised average wage conceals the fact that the actual workers are severely underpaid.

All too often, companies take the attitude that we should feel honored that they grace us with their noise and dust, while they commit wrongs against taxpayers funding their growth. When they fail to deliver the good jobs that Buncombe County taxpayers paid for, it’s only fair that we get a refund.

— Brennan Green
Weaverville

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One thought on “Letter: Kudos to county for withholding incentives

  1. CCBuncombe

    Totally agree. But they paid incentives to people who were in no danger of retirement and have not went after that money. We were not allowed to accept a glass of water from a taxpayer if it was 100 degrees and we were having a heatstroke. Why? Ethics. So no one could say they benefited in some other say if we accepted a gift. That huge amount of money is a huge gift and they benefited. We could have been terminated for a glass of water…they got double salaries and the county gets invoices from the state for that pay roll spiking and always will…and taxpayers will foot the bill for it.

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