Are staffing changes partisan attacks?

To the Editor:

What do Lori Rangel-Pompa, Joy Pardo, Dwight Jeffrey and Anna Wagner have in common? They are all Democrats.

Why does that matter? They have all been victims of County Judge Tom Bonn’s partisan political bigotry.

Since Letters to the Editor are limited in length, I am going to start with Lori Rangel-Pompa who is our County Treasurer.

She wa

s ELECTED by the citizens of Caldwell County. Our County Judge has already moved her office out in the Courthouse and has moved all “non-core” duties, including payroll, to an APPOINTED Human Resources Department.

Mr. Bonn had said that he is doing this because the surrounding counties are doing it this way. So I checked.

Guadalupe, Hays, Bastrop and Comal counties have an HR department, but the Treasurer does the payroll. In Gonzales County, the auditor does the payroll.

Now it must be noted that Guadalupe, Hays, Bastrop and Comal counties all have populations of 100,000-plus people. Caldwell county has a population of 38,000 people.

It makes sense for counties that large to have HR departments. It does not make sense for a county our size to have one. Ms. Rangel-Pompa offered to get certified in Human Resources and do the job at the same salary, but, instead of working in a bi-partisan manner to save tax payer money (the newly formed HR department’s budget is $198,000 a year), her offer was rejected by Mr. Bonn.

But, regardless, that does not take away from the fact that the Treasurer in all these counties (except Gonzales) handles payroll.

Ms. Rangel-Pompa’s credentials are impeccable and she has shown incredible professionalism under intense scrutiny from the County Judge.

Mr. Bonn has brought partisan politics to a new low.

To be continued…

Tracy Forester

Lockhart