What I saw when I reviewed the Escambia County salaries was:
1. We have a great deal of duplication between constitutional officers. Our first step towards to consolidation needs to be developing centralized human resources, purchasing and motor pools.
2. We need an economic strategy to raise the incomes in the private sector. The county salaries may be fair, but we can’t have them so exceed the salaries of the public they serve.
3. There is room for more cuts. Do we need all those administrative assistants? Can we privatize some of the positions and save on benefits and retirement plans, which average over $12K per employee?
4. We need to look closer at the Sheriff’s personnel. How does it compare with other departments? We need to raise deputy pay, but the sheriff has a lot of people making over $50,000 a year. Cuts in management could free up millions.