Massillon City Council didn't have much to say on Monday when 27 city employees lost their jobs.
These job losses, these families who will suffer as a result, are the human faces attached to the rhetoric of "show tough love," or "cut it to the bone," mantra which has been extraordinarily easy for some members of our city government to trumpet to the local newspaper.
Massillon's finances are a mess.
Our prior mayor spent money like a drunken sailor on shore leave.
Money he didn't have.
And the Auditor had no inclination to put the brakes on as he did it.
Now, while city council has cut benefits for the workers, froze employee salaries, and cheerleaded the "cut to the bone" bombast, they themselves received a 3.55% pay increase.
While others were losing their jobs, through no fault of their own, those in charge got a raise.
Last January, the Independent reported that Mayor Catazaro-Perry, Councilman Donnie Peters, Councilman Ed Lewis, and Councilwoman Nancy Halter returned the annual unvoted pay raise.
We are left wondering if anyone else returned their raise.
We are curious to know who is so brazen to accept a pay raise for themselves while the employees who work for them lose their jobs.
We really are curious.
And are asking our faithful readers for help.
We want names.
If someone knows who took the raises, and who returned them, please drop us an email.
The community deserves to know.
The Massillon Review Hypocrisy Early Warning System is on high alert.
