by James Henry

Created on: February 28, 2009

I spent eight years of my professional career working in municipal government, usually in high-ranking administrative positions that were highly visible in the community. In order for me to be paid, there had to be a line item in the operating budget to request the funds from the town voters who would attend and vote at the Annual Town Meeting. In that regard, everyone in town knew exactly how much money I was being paid, and I just had to accept that it was one of the rules of the game.

The same can be said of performance evaluations. Nearly every performance evaluation I ever had was done in public session, and if one of the local media happened to be there to report on the meeting, odds are that the results of my evaluation would be front page news.

I recall my first evaluation. Most evaluations are mere formalities, but in this case, there was one member of the Board of Selectmen who wanted me fired, for political reasons. As a result, instead of completing my evaluation in one night, the Board dragged it out over several weeks. It became like a soap opera in the local press. By the time the final session came along, I gave the board an ultimatum that either they would wrap up my evaluation that night, or I would ask for a vote on my future immediately.

Ironically, after all that, not only did I keep my job, but I got a raise on top of that.

Politics is a tough business, and anyone who aspires to serve in public office had damned well better have thick skin or a set of body armor, because politicians and the public will eat you alive if they smell blood.

I may not have appreciated these aspects of the job, but I understand that when you are spending taxpayers' dollars, there is a near sacred trust that the elected leaders should spend those dollars wisely. As such, it is entirely appropriate to post salary amounts in public places of all government officials. And I would stipulate that this should not be simply a pecking list. I would insist that each and every government official salary be posted, because to do otherwise would make the process needlessly political. One of the worst aspects of politics in America today is the Politics of Personal Destruction. Failure to post salaries of every official would open the door to such below-the-belt attacks that are much more about politics than about justice, fairness and transparency.

With that caveat in place, not only do I support having these figures published, but I believe it would be a very good thing. There is an inherent lack of trust with many Americans regarding their government officials. Releasing this information for all to see is one sure-fire way to bring back a piece of the lost trust.

http://www.revealthemall.com

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