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| Friday, April 08, 2005 | (No comments posted.)
North Township Advisory Board President Frank Mrvan Jr. has challenged Trustee Greg Cvitkovich's "2 percent club."
Good for Mrvan. The archaic, unethical practice needs to stop anywhere that this political dinosaur remains.
The 2 percent club is the old routine of getting government employees to tithe, through payroll deduction, to the elected official who employs them or to the political party in power.
Mrvan and board member Richard Novak are pursuing a state audit of that account. The board had ordered the practice stopped, but it continues, buoyed by the opinion of township attorney Anthony DeBonis that the deductions are legal.
Mrvan asked the state Board of Accounts to issue a legal opinion on the board's authority to stop the practice. He initially contacted the Indiana attorney general's office but was directed to the Board of Accounts.
In this day and age, no way should political contributions be made through payroll deduction or even in a collecting tin at the office. That smacks of a shakedown.
Let political fund-raising take place outside the office and outside regular work hours. And make it clear that government jobs exist because of a need to serve the public, not to serve the political party in power.
This isn't the only change needed at North Township, however.
Cvitkovich, in his feud with the advisory board over the 2 percent club, has called the board members' salaries too high.
He's wrong about the club, but he's right about the salaries.
It is hard to understand why the three advisory board members are paid $21,369 each.
Mrvan's response is that since he was elected, the board's salary has been frozen and employees given raises.
"This all stems from a criticism of the trustee, who receives $77,000 in salary, a free car and auto insurance and a $30,000 to $40,000 perk from the '2 percent club' from township employees," Mrvan told a Times reporter. "We ought to examine all of those as a cost-cutting measure also."
Good point. The township shouldn't put so much into salaries and benefits for its trustee or, for that matter, board members.
Your opinion, please
Should political contributions by payroll deduction be illegal?
Share your thoughts at http://www.nwitimes.com/youropinion.>
Your opinion, please
Should political contributions by payroll deduction be illegal?
Share your thoughts at www.nwitimes.com/youropinion.
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