Homeowners Meeting

Last Monday I attended a meeting of the Highlands County Homeowners Association. As usual, Jack Richie and his fellow officers put together an informative and entertaining two hours. Invited to speak were Jeff Carlson, Ron Grimming, Guy Maxcy and Zane Thomas, all candidates for various elected positions in the county.

It was a full house and all the candidates gave very nice presentations with the audience asking many questions. A couple of the questions dealt with rank and file county employees' salary and benefits far outpacing that of the private sector. A follow-up question dealt with the same issue for elected positions. Specifically, the question was that if Bob Germaine were elected Clerk of Court, was his combined salary and retirement pay of $190,000 per year rational in a county the state classifies as economically disadvantaged.

Mr. Maxcy and Mr. Carlson both did not have a problem with that compensation and the issue should have been left at that point. However, Mr. Carlson finished his answer by drawing an analogy between Zane Thomas's military retirement pay and that of Mr. Germaine, saying he saw no difference in the two circumstances. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Mr. Carlson was stating that the retirement compensation a military person receives for the danger and hardships they endure is the equivalent of that of a bureaucrat working in an air conditioned office. I have no idea as to Mr. Carlson's military service, but if he had served in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan, he would have a much different opinion of veteran's compensation.

Mr. Carlson owes an apology to all Heartland veterans.

Patrick Marren
Sebring