Dear Peachtree City Council members, I am disappointed in the recent vote to approve a second pay raise in a year to city employees which was not planned into the budget and will lead to future tax increases on the taxpayers of this city who you were elected to represent.
Why did the taxpayers not have a say on which firm was chosen to conduct the pay survey?
Why was the vote rushed before the public can see and understand the results of the survey and schedule the proper public hearings on the matter?
Why couldn’t any adjustments in pay to the city employees be budgeted responsibly and have a set time frame to bring up the wage levels?
The council members who voted yes on the second pay raise this year set a bad precedent of caving to the demands and threats of our city employees.
They have shown no respect to the taxpayers of the city who are struggling with stagnant raises and big increases in healthcare cost.
Due to your irresponsible decision to vote yes, you can expect future threats of slowdown in work performance and intimidation in future council member meetings if future pay raises and benefits are not sufficient to the city employees going forward.
I lived in New York and California and I have seen first hand the results of public servants enriching themselves while school programs, community programs and public safety are cut or fees increased.
I have seen productive citizens like myself leave these states refusing to pay for and to be held hostage by the demands of the public servants.
I will carefully evaluate the decisions of the council members going forward, and if I continue to see disregard and lack of respect for the citizens of Peachtree City, I will put up my house for sale and leave Peachtree City. I have done this before and will do it again.
By the way if you think I am the only one passionate about this matter you need to talk to the citizens you represent.
Barry Brazil
Peachtree City, Ga.
