Throughout the past few years the Snyder County Commissioners have enjoyed, orchestrated, and created mostly positive press releases and benefited politically from them; however as the saying goes, “it’s time to pay the piper.”  In this letter I would like to ask the county employees to reflect and think of just how much their loyalty and support are worth?  The board of Snyder County Commissioners recently announced that our budget is doing so well because of the conservative work of the county work force and the good work of Chief Clerk, Lee Knepp that there will be a 2% across the board pay raise.   My question to our county employees would be, is 2% enough?  Is it enough to endure four more years of Commissioner Kantz confronting you with condescending and sarcastic comments about the job you are doing, or being met by another red faced tantrum from Mr. Derk threatening to write you up over an alleged violation of the county code?  The pay raise of two years ago (some as much as $10,000 per person) were said to be given because the employees were going to sue the county, and the commissioners claimed to have no other choice.

After receiving that pay raise, the board reduced the number of hours, to complete your task; requiring less time to do more work.  They have been reducing and cannibalizing the workforce to show a balanced budget on your backs.  In the real world, private industry provides or creates incentives to increase productivity and pay increases with increased hours of work.  We have no doubt our county employees are working hard, but the tax payers in  the county are hurting with an unemployment rate over 12% and under employment even far higher.  This looks like nothing more than politics as usual; politicians purchasing political support and power with our tax dollars.

Mark J. Harris