Today's Indianapolis Star has an article about the nepotism that exists in many of the township trustee offices. The article contains a discussion of the Wayne Township Trustee office here in Marion County. The elected trustee, Democrat David King Baird, who makes $81,120 a year, hired as his "chief of staff," his brother Hershell, a position which pays $78,744 a year, including the use of a new Ford Crown Victoria. The deputy trustee Lynn McWhirter, makes $58,493 a year. McWhirter is daughter of a former trustee and a wife of a current battalion chief on the township fire department.
The article doesn't mention that McWhirter is a Republican, a former member of the Indianapolis City-County Council, and was Baird's opponent in 2006. So much for Wayne Township Republicans being able to use bloated top-level salaries in the trustee's office as an issue in the 2010 election.
Back when Republicans controlled Pike Township (an admittedly a smaller township population wise), I recall that that the Trustee position was a part-time position and the office was staffed by lower paid clerical people. While the trustee position later gravitated toward being more full-time during the last 15 years or so, I don't think there was ever, two additional highly paid, full-time supervisor level employees in the office. I can't imagine what those individuals have to do that would require them to receive full-time salaries, in addition to the full-time salary paid to the trustee. How much poor relief are they giving out in Wayne Township that requires that these three individuals in the trustee's office alone are paid more nearly $220,000 in base salary, not to mention benefits?
5 comments:
What is hilarious is that BLOGGERS have been discussing the nepotism in Wayne Township for years. I remember reading about it on the old Indy Undercover blog back in 2006.
Nice of the Indy Star to finally report on it.
David King Baird and his brother are in direct violation of state law by never having those vehicles approved by the township board.
And why do they need cars with emergency flashing lights, sirens, and radios?
They also have never declared the value of the unlimited use vehicles for federal income tax purposes.
Same song, different verse. So tell me why the Star doesn't go after the Ivy Tech group? Those double dippers are Crawford, Bauer, and Frye and formerly Garton. In Ft. Wayne there is a Martha Bauer on the Ivy Tech payroll, anyone want to bet she isn't related to Pat?
These reps get paid for do nothing jobs at Ivy Tech, e.g. Pat is VP for External Partnerships,118K, Martha Bauer, Exec Dir Resource Development, 60K, Willaim Crawford, Director of Outreach, 77K, Craig Frye, Exec Director of Apprenticeship Studies, 114k(source Star database on salaries). Anyone want to check on whether or not they recuse themselves from votes that affect Ivy Tech?
Jon,
I doubt it's a crime to not recuse themselves from the votes, although it may well be an ethical violation.
But to be employed by government without actually doing any work, that's ghost employment, a felony. I just can't imagine that there is that much work at the Wayne Township Trustee's office that they have to have three highly paid superivor-level employees working there.
That's a true oxymoron, politics and ethics...
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