Letter: What is Mr. Wanchick thinking?

Dear Editor:

Great news Friday — in the midst of the St. Johns County Budget crisis, Wanchick has hired another highly paid employee for St. Johns County.

While Ms. Glasgow may be a very nice lady, can St. Johns County afford another $89,061, plus benefits, during this economic climate?

Ms. Glasgow comes to us from the same area in Texas as Mr. Wanchick, 38 miles away.

How much was added for Ms. Glasgow’s relocation expenses and possible interim living expenses to the roughly $125,000/year in salary, health insurance and retirement plan?

Is this what Mr. Wanchick meant when he recently referred to the County employee situation of HUGE benefits for all county employees as being the “friends and family plan”?

While St. Johns County needs economic development, how many executives does it take to run this County of 190,000 residents?

Our current budget is about $542,000,000; what’s one more possibly $200,000 expense? With the tremendous unemployment in the County, was there no one in this County or surrounding Counties who could handle this job?

Better yet, is there no current County employee who could handle this job? Or someone who knows the area who could promote the wonderful ‘quality of life’ that has been touted and threatened to be downgraded if the proposed tax increase is not implemented?

Must we have employed someone with an MBA (that would be Mr. Wanchick) at $170,000/year, plus benefits, to make these ‘specialty’ appointments? It appears that, as County Administrator, he needs lots of help. News Flash: Many of our taxpayers have recently earned their MBA in “budget management.”

Many of the citizens financing the County’s gross spending habits have lost their jobs (resulting in no health insurance), their homes, and they struggle to feed their families.

Mr. Wanchick reiterated in several Town Hall meetings that St. Johns County citizens can no longer afford vacations (hence, the need for continuing full library services) and cannot afford to keep their animals (hence, the need for increasing the animal control department).

Could we please hire another County employee to figure out what is wrong with this picture!

Patti Henderson
St. Augustine, FL

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