The purpose of this letter is to comment on what City Council members Eric Imker and Kim Learnard had to say on the employee pay increase. It is not to try to evaluate the data officially collected or take a yea or nay position on the increase itself.
Understanding their mindsets is critical to understanding what they said and why.
Learnard is now trying to backpedal on her no vote. If she truly wanted more information before being able to vote, she would have abstained. Compounding this she now says she wanted more information for the taxpayers on their upcoming tax increase.
Remember, Imker said, twice, if employees didn’t like their pay they could leave. There were 30 people waiting in line to take their jobs.
A statement in direct contradiction to his email to the county that stated, “Before executing any pay raise that may be forthcoming you must understand that the lowest paid positions are always the hardest to fill. Don’t be mislead by your staff when information is brought to you indicating the inability to fill a position for ‘x’ amount of time. It will be self-serving data.”
When I was a councilman, we had to deal with some issues of pay and promotions due to hardships in hiring and retention. At certain times this has been a reality.
He also said, “Do you believe the economy has recovered? According to the contractor used in PTC, it has! Astonishing! This statement is documented on video at PTC council’s salary workshop on Sept. 16. When I see ‘help wanted’ signs on a majority of local businesses’ windows as I drive by, then I’ll know the economy is back. Has the county’s digest fair market value recovered? Of course not.“
But he gave no consideration to all the retail spaces with “For Lease” signs or concern of lack of industrial recruitment.
Nor does this support the effort of council to promote more retail construction on Line Creek, including another traffic light.
When trying to justify the 1.25 mill tax increase of 2010, Imker argued our tax rate was low compared to others. Reality is tax impart, not millage rate, is what matters, so this is not a real argument.
Cities are classified by population size, with “Class A” the largest. There are 15 Class B cities in Georgia, including Peachtree City.
I researched and found, even before all the tax increases began in 2010, Peachtree City ranked last in tax friendliness among Class B cities in Georgia. It deserves repeating, we are ranked last place.
Think about it, the other cities are growing while we are stagnant.
After insulting Peachtree City staff and council, Imker insulted county staff and intruded into county business. He told the others on council they didn’t understand what was presented and he was not going to take the time to educate them.
Others criticized him for going to the county, which is ironic, since Imker, Learnard and Fleisch repeatedly did the same thing the prior four years.
Further, he said, “Peachtree City screwed up big time in allowing the contractor who did their study to use clear higher cost-of-living areas in determining pay under the guise that’s where the PTC labor market came from.”
The actual statement was those areas are competing with Peachtree City in hiring.
Let us examine the cost of living index for our local area, the list used for the study and the frequently cited other Class B cities in Georgia for many studies. In all cases the numbers are baselined off the national index average of 100, listed in high to low index order and collected from bestplaces.net.
The Peachtree City index is 117. That places us as the second most expensive in Fayette County, fifth in the study cities and third among Class B cities.
Here are the indexes from our locale: Woolsey 120, Tyrone 112, Brooks 112, Fayetteville 103, Senoia 99 and Sharpsburg 72.
Now, the study picks, the names copied from a difficult to read streaming video: Sandy Springs 140, Dunwoody 135, Johns Creek 128, Roswell 123, Duluth 108, Fayetteville 103, Woodstock 103, Smyrna 102, Kennesaw 99, Newnan 93, Stockbridge 93, Griffin 92, Gainesville 90, LaGrange 89, Douglasville 88, College Park 85, East Point 83, Peachtree Corners has no index due to its newness.
Here are the Class B cities: Milton City 148, Dunwoody 135, Duluth 108, Woodstock 103, Kennesaw 99, Newnan 93, Stockbridge 93, Hinesville 92, Gainesville 90, LaGrange 89, Douglasville 88, Rome 84, East Point 83 and Dalton 82. Peachtree Corners has no index due to its newness.
Also included were Coweta and Fayette County, for which I have no numbers.
It is not debatable Imker uses situational ethics, claims and spreadsheets in presenting his “findings.”
I provided some information, you be the judge.
More information can be found on donhaddix.com
The tax increase coming next year will be much higher than the already stated approximate $65 per average home when the cost of dredging is included. Unless, of course, they decide to drain down the reserve first.
As mayor, I was blamed by many as being the cause of discord on council.
Well, it didn’t take long for the same kind of conflicts to ignite this year. So, what was the common denominator? That would be Learnard, Imker and Fleisch, with attacks on the commission along with not listening to the residents and pushing personal agendas.
Now, I have been vindicated. I stood up for the average citizen and they did everything they could to silence and make me look divisive.
They won that battle. Now, they are turning on each other.
Don Haddix
Peachtree City, Ga.
