I am writing concerning numerous statements made by Hays County Commissioner Jeff Barton asserting that he refused a pay raise during the most recent county budgeting session. Commissioner Barton publicly stated that he would not accept a proposed pay raise for elected officials, but he concealed the fact that he is the one who proposed the pay raise in the first place. If you check Commissioners Court meeting minutes, you will find that Commissioner Barton is the one who made the motion to raise his own elected official salary.
After the budget was published, citizens began to complain that Commissioner Barton would raise his own salary at the expense of raising taxes on homeowners in order to pay for it. So only then did Mr. Barton publicly refuse the pay raise. This seems to be a trend with Commissioner Barton.
Two years ago, Commissioner Barton was successful in raising his own taxpayer-funded salary by more than $8,600. He also voted to give himself almost $10,000 a year as a personal car allowance. At the same time, he twice voted to raise taxes on homeowners in order to fund these increases against the backdrop of a serious, nation-wide economic recession. Now, Commissioner Barton wants Hays County taxpayers to “promote” him to County Judge.
I think Hays County deserves better. So on election day, I will not vote to give Commissioner Barton his promotion. Instead, I will vote for Dr. Bert Cobb, a common sense conservative, to serve as our Hays County Judge. Dr. Cobb is not a career politician. He is a former chief of surgery and longtime medical doctor. He understands our community and knows what public service and fiscal responsibility are all about.
I encourage you to join me in firing self-serving career politicians like Mr. Jeff Barton and hiring Dr. Bert Cobb.
Charles O. Walts
San Marcos
