Recent surveys of the total salaries paid to the Osceola County Board of Supervisors find they remain 26% above their peers. How will the county budget ever get corrected when the most excessive spenders are our elected Supervisors themselves? And the layoff announcements just keep coming in.

See the OCTA's current survey here.

This statement below was read to the Osceola County Compensation Board meeting held Monday evening, Nov. 23, 2009. The board proceeded ahead and voted to recommend a 3.25% pay raise for the County Sheriff and while the recommending a 0% pay raise for the other elected officials. Those voting yes were Greg Kosters, Pam Vande Hoef, Richard Bremer, and Harold Dawson. Those voting no were George Braaksma and Barb Berkenpas. Abstaining was Ken Harthoorn.

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11-23-2009
Ladies and gentlemen,

The OCTA decided to make a balanced comparison of our supervisor's salaries compared to eight other counties. This time we compared to four counties with the taxable valuation closest in size to us on either side....the next four smaller and the next four larger in size. We then averaged the total salaries of the nine counties and found we are spending 36% more for supervisor's total salaries then the average total salaries of the nine counties. See our chart here.

OCTA friends and supporters - Great Job! Your phone calls and personal visits with the county supervisors gave a big boost of support to local taxpayers. Thank you!

In a 5-2 vote the Osceola County Compensation Board approved a 5.3% increase in annual salary for county elected officials. There was one exception. The Sheriff received a 7.5% increase. The two dissenting board members were the two representing the Supervisors - George Braaksma of Sibley and Barb Berkenpas of Ashton.

January 2009

Dear Osceola County Taxpayers,

The Osceola County Taxpayers Association (OCTA) appreciates the services our county government provides. We also continue our educational mission to insure our small county never loses its county government. There is currently a serious financial risk though. For too long, the Osceola County Supervisors have been justifying their high wages by comparing our county salaries to those salaries in counties right around us.

News Release – Osceola County Taxpayers Association
June 10, 2008

O’Brien County Attorney Bruce Green met with the Osceola County Board of Supervisors today, in an effort to negotiate a costly new 28E Agreement for services provided to O’Brien County by the Osceola County Attorney Robert Hansen. During the course of the discussions in Sibley this morning, Green made this admission –

May 1 – Bloomberg (William Selway): “U.S. state sales-tax collections fell in the first quarter for the first time in six years as consumers curbed spending, dealing a blow to state finances from Rhode Island to California, a study found. Sales taxes fell in 21 of the 36 states that have reported collections for the first three months of 2008, according to the study by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, New York. Southeastern states were the hardest hit, the study found, because of the subprime mortgage market collapse.

The Challenge we Have in Osceola County is Going on Nationally

April 30 – USA Today (Dennis Cauchon): “Federal, state and local governments are hiring new workers at the fastest pace in six years… Governments added 76,800 jobs in the first three months of 2008…By contrast, private companies collectively shed 286,000 workers in the first three months of 2008.”

If Lawyer Profits Per Partner Are at Record Levels Among The Large Firms, One Can Only Imagine What They Are Doing For Firms That Have Much Lower Operating Costs!