Lisa Rodvien's Full-Time Entitlement
Though privileged Democrats feel that they are important and entitled enough to receive full-time pay and benefits for part-time work, Maryland residents just don't need full time County Councils
Once again, privileged Democrats think that they should personally be entitled to more of your taxpayer dollars.
Anne Arundel County Councilwoman Lisa Rodvien is leaving her role as a teacher to spend more time as a County Councilwoman. Except this has prompted a discussion about making the County Council a full-time position again:
There is undeniably a requisite level of privilege to work a part-time job for between $40,000 and $50,000 a year and still afford to live in a county as expensive as Anne Arundel, Hummer added.
“There are large portions of our community that could never serve in one of these positions just because of the nature of their jobs or their financial status,” Hummer said. “Anything we do that makes it even less accommodating or possible for more people to serve is public office is just a detriment. We need diversity across the board when it comes to types of jobs, family backgrounds, locations. We need that full diversity.”
Pickard said the extension of the term limits approved by the voters in the 2022 election should jump-start a conversation on how the county can make council jobs appealing to a wider pool of applicants.
“While this bill is specifically about pension benefits, it’s probably time for this council to look beyond just pensions but benefits and compensation more robustly,” Pickard said.
Given that the county is more populous than the state of Wyoming, according to census data, Rodvien said it’s long past time to make council member a full-time position.
The idea that three privileged white women are complaining about the compensation in serving the county they live in is of course an insult to each and every taxpayer in Anne Arundel County. Complaining about compensation the same year they received a 17.1% increase in salary and benefits when their salary and benefits are 26% above the annual county per capita income is even more disgusting.
If the salary isn’t enough for them to do the job, they can feel free to self-deport from the Council.
As far as the idea of making the County Council a full-time position…..why?
Councilwoman Julie Hummer said in the quote above that “There is undeniably a requisite level of privilege to work a part-time job for between $40,000 and $50,000 a year and still afford to live in a county as expensive as Anne Arundel” but Hummer seems to lack the self-awareness that she and her Democratic colleagues on the Council are responsible for making Anne Arundel County as expensive at it is. And despite complaining about the cost of living in the county, Hummer and her Democratic colleagues will no doubt vote for yet another Steuart Pittman tax increase when they adopt the FY 2024 County Budget.
If this sounds similar to arguments that you heard about making the Maryland General Assembly a full-time legislature, you’re right.
In my unpublished Minority Report from my time on the Anne Arundel County Salary Standard Commission, I wrote this:
At the end of the day, County Councilmembers are categorized as part-time county employees. There is no expectation that Councilmembers are living on their County paycheck as their main source of income and benefits. The current council is paid handsomely for what ultimately and legally constitutes part-time employment. While I am aware that the Council has referred the issue of a part-time Council versus a full-time Council to the Charter Review Commission, the issue remains settled that the Council is indeed a part-time one. These proposed increases are creeping toward the expectation that the Council will be considered full-time in the near future.
I also wrote:
County taxpayers are starting to feel the pinch of inflation and have already been asked to pay significantly more in county taxes to pay for an ever expanding and bloated county government. I understand that in a county budget over $1 billion that the five-figure increase being proposed is little more than a rounding error. But when the County is already spending at unsustainable levels, it is hard to recommend the County spend this much more on salary and benefits.
And that’s ultimately what Rodvien et al would be expecting. They would expect that their salary and benefits as a full-time Councilmembers would double. It’s beyond absurd for a legislative body that meets about once a week.
No county in Maryland is so large that it requires a full-time County Council. Though privileged Democrats may feel that they are important and entitled enough to receive full-time pay and benefits for part-time work, Maryland residents deserve legislators at all levels who are part of their community and not above it.