| Today's Feature Still Negotiating on Bank Building.
County Counselor Jim Spradling
updated the Commissioners on the contract
negotiations with Nation’s Bank during last
weeks regular Thursday morning meeting.
The County has been working
with Nation’s Bank to purchase a building on
the Southeast corner of the Carthage square.
"I think we have an
agreement with Nation’s Bank," said
Spradling. "You always have a few problems
when one side writes the contract, it’s one
sided, so we just need to balance it out.
"They want $7,500 towards
blocking off their area."
Hensley reminded Spradling that
this was not part of the original agreement.
"That is what we told them
absolutely, we are not going to do," said
Hensley.
Spradling said that both
parties need to go over the contract.
"It’s basically what
you agreed to with a few changes," said
Spradling.
The general agreement is for
the County to purchase the building for $650,000
and then lease the ground floor and basement back
to the bank.
letter to the editor
The opinions expressed are not necessarily
those of the Mornin' Mail.
It has come to my attention
that the Associate County Commissioners in Jasper
County and other counties are about to take a pay
increase in the middle of their term. In many
cases this may amount to as much as $20,000
annually to their salary, in addition to the
future benefits of increased pensions for the
rest of their lives and that of their spouses.
This action is a direct
violation of the Missouri State Constitution,
Article VII, Section 13, which reads. "the
compensation of state, county and municipal
officers shall not be increased during the term
of office; nor shall the term of any officer be
extended." This section in the Missouri
State Constitution dates back to the Constitution
of 1875 and has remained in effect to the present
day. It is amazing to me that despite the advice
of their taxpayer paid county council in Jasper
County, the commissioners would vote to go ahead
and take this controversial increase.
The justification that the
Associate Commissioners in Jasper County have
been quoted as saying is that a state law that
was passed and signed by the Governor is the
basis for their taking this unconstitutional pay
raise. I might point out that a good example of a
law passed and signed was whether riverboats
could be placed in moats as far as 2,000 feet
away from the rivers. When challenged, this was
so obviously unconstitutional that there was no
dissention on the Missouri Supreme Court in
declaring it unconstitutional. Since I am
unencumbered with a legal education, I believe
that without a doubt, the law that the Associate
Commissioners are using as justification for this
pay increase will be equally and unanimously
declared unconstitutional when challenged. I
believe it is up to the taxpayers or a group of
taxpayers to challenge this law, or even better,
the Associate Commissioners should enter as the
friend of the court and ask for an interpretation
prior to taking this unconstitutional pay raise.
It was certainly not the
legislative intent when giving a pay raise, which
would amount to $20,000. It was stated that the
Associate Commissioners of the counties would be
paid $2,000 less than the Presiding Commissioner
and their salary would be pegged to that of the
Presiding Commissioners. When this legislation
was passed, many in the legislature knew the
constitution and did not feel that any
commissioner would question whether they could
take a pay raise in the middle of their term. The
legislative intent, therefore, was that the
commissioners would, in fact, receive a pay
increase that was tied to the presiding
commissioners of the county, when they took a new
term, not during the middle of their present
term.
I am concerned about what type
of message this sends to the taxpayers of the
state and to the children of our state, when
commissioners and elected officials take action
that is so clearly unconstitutional and that will
effect everyone for many years in the future. It
is as if the commissioners have decided to, in
spite of legal advice, take a pay raise that is
perhaps legal to the letter in one area of the
law which is direct violation of Article VII of
the Missouri State Constitution. Therefore, I
encourage taxpayers and taxpayers groups to
challenge this in order to set the record
straight, or even better, challenge the Associate
Commissioners themselves to get a determination
on whether this is constitutional prior to taking
their pay raise. This is the time for people of
good faith to step in and send the correct
message to our constituents, that no one is above
the system and that a constitution that dates
back to 1875 was correct then, is still correct
now, and should be the governing force over any
legislation passed by the General Assembly.
Sincerely,
Marvin A. Singleton, MD
State Senator, 32nd District
|
