Commissioner Gene Valentino can be an easy target for criticism. His methods are heavy-handed at times and he steps into “it” quite often. However, I can’t fault Valentino for wanting to get the salary of his aide, Dean Kirschner, on the same level of the other aides.
Managing Valentino is like managing a box of kittens—something’s going to get loose every now and then. Kirschner does an excellent job.
Breakdown of aides’ salaries:
- Marie Young $66,976 (Ms. Green was Willie Junior’s aide, has served 26 years)
- Wilson Robertson $60,944 (14 years with county)
- Grover Robinson $51,646 (14 years)
- Gene Valentino $51,521 (5 yrs)
- Kevin White $50,003 (10 years)
The issue is the County Commissioners need to establish pay ranges for their aides and guidelines for pay grades based on tenure. The aides should be treated the same as the other county employees. There should be a set starting salary when they hired and step raises with a cap on what they can make–maybe tie it to a percentage of the commissioner’s pay ($74,474).