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Commissioners clash over Butler County pay cuts

Video: Argument erupts between commissioners

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By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer Updated 7:09 PM Thursday, March 18, 2010

HAMILTON — A discussion on public employee pay raises turned personal today, March 18, with Butler County commissioners trading accusations of who and what was responsible for ballooning pay in recent years.

It erupted when Commissioner Charles Furmon made a motion to reinstate the salaries of two of the county’s highest paid employees — Assistant Human Resources Director Laura Campbell at $92,771 and Records Center Director Rhonda Freeze at $85,772.

Furmon said the move last year to cut their pay $13,771 and $15,873, respectively, was done “for no reason, at random, for personal reasons possibly.”

He said he approved the cuts to Campbell and Freeze on the understanding that more cuts in other departments would follow. But he produced a list of 14 other employees whose salaries have shot up between 24 percent and 91 percent between 2002 and 2008 — whose salaries weren’t cut.

Furmon’s motion died without a second. But Commissioner Donald Dixon said the reason further cuts were stalled is because Furmon is slowing down a salary study.

Dixon said Furmon was looking out for Campbell for his own personal reasons.

“You came into my office and said why don’t you leave her alone,” Dixon said of Campbell. “(You said) She’s a friend of mine and she’s from a little town in Kentucky I’m from and she has no one to take care of her.”

As for the pay raises over the years, “You sit here and say they gave the raises. You gave the raises,” Dixon told Furmon. “Chuck Furmon voted on their salaries and put these people where they are.”

“You’ve been here three years. It’s about time you accept some responsibility in what’s going on here Mr. Dixon,” Furmon countered.

Furmon argued that it was a merit pay system — like the one the salary study is supposed to create — that led to the increases.

Dixon pointed to Furmon’s list of pay raises as further proof the pay study is needed. He made a motion to move ahead full-speed with the study.

That motion also died without a second, though Commission President Gregory Jolivette said he would look over the data and make a decision at the next commission meeting.

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