Fayette County Judge Dan Mueller used a term not readily known by some but cuts to the bone when expressing his desire to get ahead of a problem that plagues Fayette County.
Judge Dan Mueller released the following statement “Levying taxes is like shearing a sheep …stop when you get down to the skin. Here in Fayette County, we expect our residents to get the most out of our tax dollars.
In the budget process, currently underway, there has been talk about possibly raising the salaries of the sheriff’s department and the emergency nedical services at a higher rate than other county employees. The easiest thing for the commissioners court to do would be to ignore the issue at hand.
We have a problem and I don’t think we (Fayette County) can afford to ignore the problem. Our problem is, Fayette County ranks low in salaries when compared to our surrounding areas. We are losing good deputies and good EMS personnel to other agencies. These good employees are leaving Fayette County to make more money in counties next door to us. Our good deputies and good EMS personnel are too important to us. We depend on them, and they want us to depend on them. We expect and need professionalism.
That is what we currently have and I believe it is vital that we keep the good employees we have. The level of commitment is a reflection of the results received. In other words … We get what we pay for.”
