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Hold off: Vicites, Zimmerlink make right call on ZHB

3 min read

And now comes the three-member Fayette County Zoning Hearing Board, hat in hand, asking for a four-fold pay raise in the middle of the county’s fiscal year. Do we hear a motion? Commissioner Joseph A. Hardy III says yes, he’s willing to dole out a big raise, telling ZHB board members who attended Thursday’s commission meeting, “Pass anything you want (in terms of a proposal) … I’d go along with anything you say.”

Fortunately for county residents, taxpayers and those who may utilize the ZHB’s services, Commissioners Angela M. Zimmerlink and Vincent A. Vicites were less willing to offer a knee-jerk reaction when the ZHB proclaimed that the proverbial sky is falling unless more money gets shoveled its way. For that we should all be thankful.

No one can dispute that the current pay for ZHB members – $35 per day for the chairman and $25 for the two who aren’t – is pretty low even by Fayette County standards. But that’s not enough justification for the commissioners to boost their pay to $100 per day and $135 for the chairman without exploring other options, including whether other qualified members can be found.

Think about this from the supply-and-demand dynamic that rules most of a capitalist economy. If you went to your boss today asking for a raise that would quadruple what you’ve been making, what answer would you likely get? “Hey, whatever you want. Just please stay,” as Hardy seems to be saying, or, “It’s been nice knowing you …. Next!”

Chances are also pretty good that if you walked out of the room because you didn’t get the answer you wanted, as ZHB vice chairman Dennis Nurkiewicz Sr. apparently did Thursday, you’d be told not to let the door hit you in a certain place on the way out. That’s no slam against Nurkiewicz or ZHB member Leon Q. Evans, who says he’s resigning at the end of the month because the pay hike failed. It’s just an affirmation of the way things work.

If the commissioners can find qualified board members who are willing to work for $25, accepting the current rate because they view the job as public service, they should appoint them. ZHB Chairman Mark Morrison, a noted attorney, is absolutely correct when he says that he could make more practicing law than the $35 he gets for serving on the ZHB. But public service isn’t always about the money, at least for some people.

The board members of the Fayette County Airport Authority, where Morrison serves as solicitor, get paid nothing. The board members of the Fayette County Housing Authority also are community-minded volunteers who get no compensation. Each is a much bigger operation than the ZHB, which handled 191 cases last year, an average of 16 per month.

While some ZHB cases historically have been high profile, such as those involving stone quarry operations, the record also shows that most of them are rather perfunctory, dealing with things like approving a home-based business like a beauty shop in a residential area. ZHB hearings are mostly repetitive and low profile.

Zimmerlink has already issued a press release asking potential new members to contact her at the commissioners’ office, a prudent first move. Vicites has already said that perhaps a ZHB pay raise is in order, but he’d prefer a smaller figure, which shows good fiscal stewardship.

Both are more sensible moves than automatically jacking up the appellant cost of all hearings to $700, more than doublling the $300 it currently costs for most hearings, so board members can pocket a big raise.

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