"Light at the end of the tunnel"? Do these public sector morons not get that 2010 will be worst and 2011 the worst of all? There is no increase in revenue coming for a long while. Certainly not at the level that will support 5% to 8% increase in wages and benefits. Denial will not get this done and the public will pay the price for this public sector incompetence.

Stay after them Tom. These numbnuts are going to cause the ruin of that hospital.

Is ignorance and incompetence a requirement for employment at the County? Between the Commissioners and the Hospital CEO, nobody has a clue how to run anything. Let us just continue to spend money and blow off citizens. It is good to be King.

It is scary how truly clueless this bunch is. The solution is staring you in the face = an AVERAGE $90K in salary & benefits per employee. If the union does not want to play, you start laying off as required. There is only one way to get your costs down when 70%+ of your fixed costs are people.

Better yet, ask for stimulus cash so you can give yourself another pay raise!

What a farce! County folks have known about this fund for decades. Guy Hobb set it up and played judge on who would be "rewarded" with funds from it. Now the County will not have to make necessary budgetary decisions and postpone the bad news until next year. Hint: The economy is not going to be able to produce tax revenues to meet the increases in fixed costs incurred by the County. Result: Continued deficits and screwed taxpayers. Could these Commissioners be anymore stupid?

I have to submit a complete financial and business transaction statement every year and these public slugs are crying foul? I am paying your salary and have a right to know if you have a conflict of interest while working for me. If you don't like it, give up your lifetime job and peddle your Ph.D. somewhere else.

Pay in Higher Ed = Lottery
So we are "still examining situation"? That means until media attention is gone. Then they will be given pay increases to compensate them for the inconvenience. Does the College's admin staff have no clue how to manage salaries? Why don't they just toss it out the window, as that method would be as effective.

This is not a "problem", this is an opportunity. While these employees are mooching subsidized health care, they will have to get jobs in the productive sector and learn some skills. The entities that are losing employees can eliminate bloated workforces and restructure work to something that is more relevant to the 21st century. Maybe they can even hire folks who can utilize technology.

They saw this coming for over a year. If they can't deal with it, they should be "retiring".

Must be nice to have all that taxpayer money to spend. I bet if they get charged the County will forget to get the money back. What the heck, its only the taxpayers.

I better line up some more business to pay for the new taxes that support this Ponzi scheme.

Public employees only have themselves to blame for this mess. Their admin folks cannot step up and provide data on how they set salaries, so the press run rampant with emotion. The difference in private sector is that they scrutinize and benchmark ad nauseum.

Don't start that "but we have to negotiate with the union" dribble either. It takes two to negotiate. If you walk in the room with no idea what your salary philosophy or benchmark position is, then any number is as good as any other. FYI - That goes for benefits as well. So enjoy the mess you created!