Do we have too many high-paid Buncombe County employees?

Posted on by Linda Southard

In 2009, after selling my company, I had to purchase my own health insurance. I remember telling my friend, Judy, a New Jersey teacher, that I didn’t want to pay for her and her family’s complete health care for the rest of my life. It was one reason my husband and I decided to leave New Jersey.

Now residents of Buncombe County, we’re facing the same issue with county-employee pay. The average Buncombe County employee makes far more than the average resident. County employees also have a lavish benefit package worth, on average, 48 percent of their salary. This means the average Buncombe County employee makes $51,422 a year in salary and benefits versus $42,500 for the average resident. Hourly, this translates to $36.59 for the average county employee versus $20.43 for the average resident. Because taxpayers pay county employees’ salaries and benefits, how can we continue to justify paying these folks on average 79 percent more?

I’m not saying that all Buncombe County employees are overpaid, but I suspect there are far too many high-paid county employees. How long can we expect taxpayers, who are making substantially less, to continue to fund the lavish salary and benefits for county employees? Perhaps it’s time for a comprehensive compensation study performed countywide and conducted by an independent professional company?

— Linda Southard
Candler

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6 thoughts on “Do we have too many high-paid Buncombe County employees?”

  2. bsummers

    What’s your point in re-posting this here, Tim? You were shown to be completely mistaken on this “wage tax” idea.

  3. Jake

    Okay, Linda, enough already. This was lame when you had it in the Citizen-Times, but now you’ve added a funny-numbers twist. Please let us know why your hypothetical private sector wage-year is 2,080 hours, and your public sector wage year 1,405 hours.

    And what does this mean: “Because taxpayers pay county employees

  5. Orbit DVD

    Linda, never ever ever ever mention that you moved from New Jersey.

    Tennessee might be a better place for you. There’s no state income tax there.

  6. bsummers

    “It was one reason my husband and I decided to leave New Jersey.”

    Why, because your friend Judy took it badly when you insinuated she was some kind of burden because she expected the state to honor their contractual commitment to its employees? You had teachers giving you the stinkeye all over town, didn’t you? I’d be thinking of moving, too…

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