Opinion: Local Public Servants Deserve Credit for Community's Success
“DO WHAT YOU CAN, WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, WHERE YOU ARE.” ―THEODORE ROOSEVELT
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
We are living in great times. Anderson County has never experienced the current level of progress and relative prosperity. Local charitable organizations are doing more than has ever been done to help those who still need help. Most theft and violent crime is trending downward.
Volunteerism is also at an all-time high, though the demand continues to grow with the population, which is now estimated by some measures at more than 215,000 citizens.
Parks and recreation opportunities - including Kid Venture, Green Pond, Dolly Cooper Park, Wellington Park and others - are abundant and continuing to grow and be upgraded.
And our county and municipal officials enjoy a rare spirit of cooperation. From county council to mayors to city/town councils, there is a general commitment toward serving the greater good by our public servants.
This is even more remarkable when compared to some of our neighboring counties and states (and the nation at large), and is due largely to the approach of those elected to look locally rather than be distracted by agendas set somewhere else.
It is incumbent on voters to make sure this recent climate continues.
There are only two mechanisms available to alter the course of democracy: The amendment of the United States Constitution, and voting for representatives who will create laws reflecting how we wish to be governed.
Voting is perhaps the most important tool for securing the kind of place we want to work and live. If you are not registered to vote, the Anderson County Board of Voter Registrations and Elections can help. Visiting SCVotes.org is perhaps an even faster path to getting ready for upcoming elections.
For most towns and cities in Anderson County, 2023 is an election year. The City of Belton, City of Easley, and towns of Honea-Path, Iva, Pelzer, Pendleton and West Pelzer all have general elections in November.
I am often asked: "who would want to run for office?"
There are certainly stories of elected individuals who have abused the public trust, and it is easy to remember local names and incidents of such abuse.
The word politician has been sadly sullied by such folks.
America’s political system, though far from perfect, is an amazing engine which has produced a lot of positive outcomes, for not only our country but the entire world. A politician is simply one who has chosen to participate in this system.
The overwhelming majority of men and women serving the cities, towns and county in Anderson are doing their part to move an exceedingly large wheel in an exceedingly fine fashion. I know many of these elected officials and find them devoted to their communities. It is up to voters to decide who among candidates for these posts are most likely to serve the greater good. It is not difficult to discover where candidates stand on various positions, and an informed voter who takes time to do such research is a red, white and blue part of America.
It starts where we live.
If you haven’t been to a city, county or town hall meeting lately, it might be time for a visit. It is your best opportunity to participate in the process of local government. Over the decades I have found it interesting to observe wild criticisms of local government “wasting” money by those who never show up for a single council meeting or committee meeting during the budgeting process. I have also found it disheartening that citizen participation at meetings has also steadily dropped over the past two decades.
It’s not likely you’ll be wildly entertained by the local government proceedings, and I can almost assure you that some of what is discussed will leave you as much confused as informed. A long discussion on equipment needs for wastewater treatment facilities, to give one example, will likely trigger at least a small yawn in most citizens. Then there are the “Wherefores and therewithins” in the language of many items on the agendas, which are at the same time ridiculous and required to make the decisions legally binding.
But it is in these complicated details that the men and women who serve in our local governments serve us best. Local elected officials spend countless hours poring over contracts, reports, grants and budget documents to help determine what is possible and what is too costly or short-sighted.
Other local government workers are not elected officials, they are employees who grind away at the bureaucracy and minutiae that are required to keep our infrastructure in place, our water running, toilets flushing, law enforcement and fire departments ready, elections running and efficient, roads repaired, bring in new jobs, protect us from those who have less than honest intentions and numerous other small public services that most would likely go unnoticed unless they were neglected.
Anderson owes a debt of gratitude to the men and women who have chosen such public service jobs. Many of these folks could make more money in the private sector, especially with the bloom of hundreds of new jobs in our community thanks to other public servants devoted to economic recruitment and development.
Most of our elected officials serving the cities, county and towns are part time – including all of the mayors in the county and all of the councils. These are positions which often require hours of research, committee meetings and constituent services outside the scheduled public meetings, for very little, if any compensation.
For example, Anderson County Council members are the lowest paid in the state for counties over 200,000 citizens, with an annual salary of $8,930.10. This produces a council whose members must be either self-employed or have great flexibility in work schedule. (For comparison, Greenville County Council members are paid $29,633 annually – with the council chairman being paid $35,560, York County $18,947-$26,526, Lexington County $18,040, Berkeley County $12,484 and Spartanburg County $12,500). The salaries for our county are set by the council themselve, who have been loath to increase the outdated salary structure, and are in serious need of any update to better reflect other county council salaries in the state. The council can vote to not give themselves raises, but to increase the salaries of the next elected county council.
Over the decades, my discussions with newly elected council members found both a new respect for the position as well as a stunning realization of the number of hours the job involves. Most admit, without any regret, it costs them more to serve on county council than they are paid.
Anderson County Council members are also required to run for office every two years, a wasteful relic of another age. Staggered four-year terms would give council members a chance to learn the job and prevent an election where all seven members lose their spots, producing a county council with zero experience. That would be dangerous and costly for our county.
The two-year election cycle also puts council members in the position of nearly always running for re-election.
Those who choose to serve as mayors as well as on city and town councils, generally face even smaller compensation for their service. They are all aptly called public servants, and deserve better than being thrown into the often nasty arena of political ugliness. In fact, they deserve the gratitude of every citizen for taking on work that makes Anderson County the place we work and live so much better.
At the risk of frightening them (the lion’s share of communication from constituents is in the form of complaints), it would not hurt to drop a note of thanks to those local elected officials who represent your county, city and town. Here are the sites offering contact information for your representatives: