Comments on: Column: Limited Edition

By: D

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:26:04 +0000

Brian, by the way…the BOC and Admin aren’t the only ones who have to make tough decisions.

By: D

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:25:01 +0000

D is a county employee and worried about D’s job. Thanks for the offer of “insight” about D’s motivation though, Brian. D listed facts, not suppositions. If you were really paying attention to the issues and news regarding the concessions, Brian, you would know these things. Nothing D said is inaccurate. Are you seriously going to take the BOC’s side on this and say they make too little? These people should be doing this as a calling, not as a job. Most have other jobs. I don’t feel sorry for them if they have to unsubscribe to Newsweek for the rest of the year. The unions are expected to make most of the sacrifice. Not until the unions demanded that non-union make the first move was there any serious consideration for the non-union cuts. And those cuts are not set in stone. They can be reversed at any time.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:39:01 +0000

It is also interesting to see an anonymous poster criticize someone in government who had to make a tough decision impacting employees. Clearly “D” is one of those and chose to take it out on Mr. Smith w/o reading the news about the economic times we are in.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the county commissioners haven’t had a pay raise in the last several years while county employees received one nearly every year during that period. It is quite hypocritical to now claim the county board should take a pay cut. I don’t know what they make, but it can’t be that much, stipend or not. Maybe if they had been getting raises all along… Otherwise, move on.

By: Gary Salton

Gary Salton — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:48:51 +0000

#7: We need fewer anonymous posters. Its hard to take someone seriously who is ashamed to attach their name to their viewpoint.

By: AntiRedRidersNo1

AntiRedRidersNo1 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:21:07 +0000

Mostly, it is is the same 5-10 posters who usually post on the same topics and recite the same lines. It’s tiresome, and it’s one of the reasons I’ve chosen not read Arbor Update anymore.

It was heartening to see that a story about a very real issue, that of the WISD millage, had more comments than one about a piece of art or some dam.

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:30:17 +0000

Doesn’t it seem like Chronicle comments are getting meaner, more sarcastic, more aggressive, less respectful, less Generous lately? Maybe it’s anonymity, or maybe it’s just a cost of success–as this place gets more established, it attracts more of the commenters that make traditional newspaper sites such a hell on earth.

By: D

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:08:29 +0000

Commish Smith,
Why don’t you and your fat cat Commisioners cut their budgets? Do you really need all that money for subscriptions, travel, and training? Do you really need a stipend for actually attending the meetings you were elected to attend? Not to mention, you are already getting a salary for doing this. These facts are not lost by the rest of the employees that are being shook down. Your move first Mr. Smith.

By: Conan Smith

Conan Smith — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:45:57 +0000

Thanks, Del, for taking note of what the County staff has done for all of us. It’s about union jobs to be sure, but more than anything it’s about maintaining a mess of critical services in a very tough time. The jobs they saved through these concessions include everything from Head Start to public health to environmental protection. The County would be a much less wonderful and supportive place to live next year without their generosity.

Our unions were under no obligation to come to the table this year since they were operating under signed contracts, so I’m really overwhelmed by their willingness to be, as you say, a part of the solution. In a very real way the people of Washtenaw will benefit from their commitment to put the needs of the county and its residents before their own.

By: LIsa PT

LIsa PT — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:41:46 +0000

Thanks Mary, I hoped it was something like that. Guess I need to watch more movies.

By: Mary Morgan

Mary Morgan — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:55:02 +0000

Lisa,

Del accurately quoted the line from “Animal House,” which reflects the fact that Belushi’s character was an idiot and didn’t know that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. I believe that’s why Del refers to the union members as having “a lot more smarts.”