Betsy Coffia and her reliable side-kick Bryce, both voted “no” on raises for county commissioners in 2020. Betsy and Bryce-boy’s Willy Wonka-esque “no, stop, please don’t ..” was met with 5 supportive votes for the overdue compensation package. Even departing commissioner Sonny Wheelock thought it made sense to update the wage scale for commissioners who haven’t seen a compensation adjustment in a couple decades.
Time is money, and though there have been times where commissioners literally worked for nothing (for a period of two years), there comes a point where service must come with some recompense. There is nothing wrong with wishing to be compensated for one’s time, and certainly additional pay for dealing the level of crazy that now consumes today’s political landscape is required.
Clearly however, Betsy and her side kick are all in with the new pay structure. A FOIA request reveals that Betsy, and Bryce are receiving the exact same compensation package as the other commissioners. They do not appear to be donating back any portion of the pay to address vocalized concerns of budget shortfalls or for other reasons expressed in the run up to the 2020 compensation vote.
The information received also revealed one other aspect often overlooked by those seeking to answer wage related questions. Retirement for commissioners was also enhanced with “Budget Betsy” and Bryce Boy” taking full advantage of contribution matching funds to the maximum of 3%.
The saying “Actions speaking louder than words” is true enough.
