Workers furious at county boss

Jessica Brown reports:

Workers in the Hamilton County Engineer’s office are mad their boss is refusing to forgo his 2008 raise.

They told him so in a fiery Jan. 11 letter signed by about 61 workers.

Read the full letter here

“We thought you were the team leader? Shouldn’t the team leader set the example for the whole team? Your actions speak otherwise,” they wrote to Engineer William Brayshaw in a letter obtained by the Enquirer. “How do you justify your actions Mr. Brayshaw? If the budget is in this much trouble, isn’t your job … to do YOUR part to correct the problem?”

Because of budget cuts, county workers are not expected to get raises this year. Hamilton County commissioners this month urged department heads to give up their own raises too and donate the money back to the county coffers.

Several department heads, including all three commissioners, agreed to do so. Brayshaw, who will make $104,230 this year, did not.

“The way we see it, the only people that have done their part and continue to do their part to help the budget is us, not you!,” the workers wrote to Brayshaw. “Do you even have a conscience? How can you expect us to respect you as our leader?”

Brayshaw said he will be speaking with workers on Friday about the issue. He declined to respond to the letter before that.

“I’m planning to meet with employees first. I don’t want to talk about it in the media before I talk to my employees,” he said.

Brayshaw said he opted not to give up his $2,839 raise because it does not come from the county’s general fund -- the pot of money most employee salaries come from, including those of all the other department heads.

County engineer salaries come from the General Assembly Road and Bridge fund, a state pot of money. Therefore Brayshaw’s raise didn’t impact the county budget.

Although Brayshaw could still choose to donate his raise to the county, he says he will not.
“If I donate to anyone, I’ll donate to the church,” he said, though would not confirm whether he does indeed intend to donate it to the church.

Brayshaw noted he did not lay off any of his workers, despite layoffs in other departments. If his department is doing well financially mid-year, he may still consider employee raises, he said. Although the commissioners didn’t budget any money for employee raises, the final decision is made by department heads.

As for the letter: “It’s critical and they didn’t really understand,” he said, “so I plan to go out and explain the facts.”

The engineer’s office employs 159 workers down from 176 last year due to attrition and is responsible for maintenance and snow and ice removal on the county’s roads and bridges. Brayshaw has served as engineer since 1991. He is running unopposed for re-election in November.