Perks Should Be Disbursed

In this whole diatribe over Ventura County officials’ salaries, I keep waiting for someone to come to their defense.

While I know nothing about these people or whether the total compensation package is in line with those in other counties, I do know that these people worked for a full year in good faith, expecting to be paid according to a predetermined plan. How can anyone, especially the Ventura County Taxpayers’ Assn., expect them to forfeit their vacation reimbursements at this time? How grossly unfair.

Almost all of us have some kind of perk--paid health insurance, paid retirement plan, holiday bonus, etc. How would you feel if, at the end of the year, your boss/company decided to renege on that perk--after the fact? Suddenly you had to pay all medical bills incurred, you lost credit on your retirement plan, you couldn’t buy those Christmas gifts you had planned on purchasing.

Apparently, the Taxpayers’ Assn. feels this is the way you treat your employees. Well, I wouldn’t want to be treated that way, and I don’t think many people would. So, county officials . . . don’t be bullied. You planned and worked for that pay. Take it.

L. JEAN LAUTEN

Thousand Oaks