To the Editor:

If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you always got! Not too long ago, one of our employees made this statement to me.

I’ve been thinking about this in relation to our Democrat- controlled St. Lawrence County Legislature. My opponent, the incumbent Sam Burns, has represented our District for two full terms. During that time, the majority, in which he is a major player, has consistently voted as a block to spend money we don’t have.

What we have gotten as a result is that they have spent county government into a hole, consuming all our savings, (the fund balance everyone is talking about) and causing the county to borrow money against anticipated future revenues just to pay current obligations. This pattern cannot be sustained and is self-defeating. It is time to put county government in the hands of people who know how to make it work for the people.

Recently the District Attorney came forth with a request to increase the salaries of her Assistant District Attorneys by an unusually large percentage, one as large as 24%. You can’t blame Mary Rain for this request. She is a County Department Head who is looking to attract and retain the best qualified people in her department. It seemed to me that there was room to negotiate salaries in light of the budget crunch we have found ourselves in since 2007.

The Democrat majority voted as a block to forego negotiations, grease the squeaky wheel and pay out the entire increase requested. As a result, in my discussions with our County Administrator, I found out that this action has created a very large problem in upcoming negotiations with all other Department Heads. I am aware that many are now expecting to get the same magnitude of raises in their departments. If they choose to make all of these folks happy by giving like raises, how much more will we have to borrow? Consequences must be thought through before all spending!

I am a Certified Public Accountant with decades of experience serving and advising many of our county’s municipalities and school districts. I am a thoughtful advisor and a forward-looking professional. I always consider the future consequences of actions and advise my clients accordingly. I will pay the same attention to funds of the residents of St. Lawrence County.

We don’t need the written advice of folks like a sitting County Legislator who claimed we have no financial problem in St. Lawrence County, only to read the next day in the New York State Comptroller’s report, that we are the third most stressed county in the whole State and the only one not to show improvement over the prior year. We got worse!

We continue to get what we always got. A continuing financial problem that gets worse because we are doing what we always did. Overspending! A house divided against its self cannot stand. We must work our way back to a fiscally responsible position for the good of all our taxpayers. I would appreciate your vote on November 4, 2014.

Donald J. (Don) Hooper

Legislative candidate