Yet, two local democrats who recently lost elections were, in essence, gifted high-paying positions without any apparent competition for the jobs.
That’s wrong. It’s patronage that mismanages public funds since the positions will be paid for with taxpayer dollars.
The two people who received the jobs, former county commissioner Debbie Lieberman and former recorder Staci Benson-Taylor, appear eminently qualified and could have ended up being the best candidates even after vetting others.
Qualifications aren’t the point. The appearance of backroom dealings and questions about the appropriateness of the expenditures are the big issues.
Lieberman, in an upset, lost her county commission seat in November’s election. She’s been an outstanding public servant involved in a number of causes to make the community better, including workforce development and community justice reform.
That doesn’t mean she should be handed a job, especially one under such dubious circumstances.
Clerk of Courts Mike Foley, who faces criminal charges alleging theft in office and improper political and other activities involving public resources, offered Lieberman an $83k a year job to be the office’s community development director. His office made the offer two days after creating the new job, an investigation by this newspaper revealed.
Benson-Taylor lost the county recorder’s race in November and by December, the Dayton School board awarded her a $105k a year job. The board approved the position with no discussion. This newspaper reported the school district has no records of a job being posted or Benson-Taylor applying for one. Yet, she miraculously finds hereself with a position that pays nearly three times what the average person in the county earns ($37,320 in per capita income according to the US Census Bureau.)
Does the county clerk really need a community development director? I don’t see it, but if it does, what’s the justification for spending that kind of coin given all of the other financial issues the county faces?
Does the school district need another person to work in its budget office, which is where Benson-Taylor will be employed?
The board’s justification seems to be that the current business manager asked for an assistant. I’m sorry, but lots of organizations could use more help. Instead of having an open discussion on whether the funds would be better used for students, the board took an action that seems to advance favoritism over the needs of the families it serves.
These shenanigans will unfairly taint the people in the jobs. But it fairly taints Foley’s office and the school board as places of patronage more interested in playing favorites than doing what’s right for the public.
Someone needs to take a deep look at both of these situations. That’s easier to do with the clerk’s office, since it’s a government agency using tax dollars.
But community groups need to ask questions about the school board’s hiring practices and how it benefits student.
It’s hard to see how either hire benefits anyone but the people who are now in those jobs.
Ray Marcano’s column appears on these pages each Sunday.