For a more accountable county government

As a candidate for legislator in Sullivan County this past fall, I ran on a platform of responsible, fair and transparent government. As I campaigned, I repeatedly heard District 1 residents express frustration with the way their county government has been run. Complaints were voiced ranging from inefficiency and lack of leadership to fiscal irresponsibility and lack of vision. Worse yet, there was measurable sentiment that the county for far too long has been run as a “Good ‘Ole Boys’ Club.” I pledged, if elected, to make inroads toward changing and exposing a culture at our government center that has rewarded partisanship, patronage, cronyism and personal agendas. Backroom deals have led to some terrible policy decisions that all of us are still paying for.

As District 1’s legislator, I have acted on my pledge. Since November, I have told citizens and my fellow legislators that we cannot arbitrarily give disproportionate pay increases to management level employees. From looking at the 2008 county budget, it was clear that management raises were not distributed uniformly or proportionately. To this end, I publicly questioned what I perceived to be an excessive and politically motivated raise for the legislative aide, Alexis Eggleton. The type of raise proposed for Ms. Eggleton will degrade overall employee morale throughout county government and acting in this manner creates, at the very least, a perceived system of favoritism.

It appears my advocacy has ruffled some feathers. In a peculiar twist, Ms. Eggleton was caught last week not only monitoring my movements and actions throughout the government center building, but also reporting on them to the county manager, David Fanslau. Mr. Fanslau has assured me that he did not request this surveillance and does not condone the actions of Ms. Eggleton. I am disappointed that this deplorable and unethical behavior by an individual who is paid to work for all nine legislators with equal devotion, regardless of party affiliation, has not received the scrutiny it deserves. Unfortunately, members of the Democratic majority have been more concerned with how I presented and raised the issue of Ms. Eggleton’s actions and Mr. Fanslau’s possible involvement than with this major breakdown of trust in our county government. In fact, after the issue became public, the majority voted for her additional pay raise.

To date, there has been no discussion of a necessary official inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the monitoring of my actions or how the raise came to pass. Nor has there been an official discussion that might result in action on the part of the legislature to make clear that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.

As had been suggested by legislator Jodi Goodman, a comprehensive management salary review should have been performed prior to any managerial increases. I believe a step or tiered system of management classification should be created countywide. Standard operating procedures should be implemented that disburse managerial raises on a fair and uniform tiered basis transparent not just to county employees, but to the public.

I urge all Sullivan County Legislators to join me in forging a new political culture that is fair, open, bi-partisan and responsive to everyone’s concerns. Democracy does not work well behind closed doors, especially when elected officials are subject to unwarranted and secret scrutiny.

(David A. Sager is the legislator for Sullivan County District 1.)