It will cost Porter County $168,703.60, which it takes from the county's casino fund, to pay for this year's "longevity fund" for county government employees:
According to the pay scale, longevity payments start after a full-time county employee has been with the county for three years of service getting $225 added to their salary. The next raise happens after the employee has reached five years with an addition of $375 and the scale continues to rise in five year increments -- $750 after 10 years, $1,125 for 15 years, $1,500 for 20 years, $1,875 for 25 years, and maxes out at thirty years with $2,250 tacked on.
The president of the County Council says that he's baffled that this has "suddenly become an issue" and that all the commotion surrounding this year's vote for the fund was "nothing short of asinine." The council approved the payments by a 7-0 vote.
Yeah, I'm baffled, too. In today's economy, with so many in the private sector unemployed or underemployed, with government services being curtailed or threatened, with no end it sight to the bad times, I just don't get why people might get upset with government workers making sure nothing interrupts their cash flow.
