Your county tax dollars at work…, Part 3

Paying for a “summer employment program”? Isn’t that the role of McDonald’s? (An ongoing series on the wasteful spending by the Board of Supervisors and the County Administrator…)

According to the Fiscal Year 2007-2008 Adopted Budget for Caroline County:

The Summer Employment Program is a County program set up to employ high school and college age County young people in part time and seasonal full time jobs with the County. The Program is intended to offer youth an opportunity to constructively occupy their time and to earn money while doing it. In addition, the Program is structured to give the participants the experience of applying and interviewing for a job and is expected to teach them valuable work habits that they will be able to draw upon in the future.

Any County Department or Constitutional Officer with a need for unskilled or introductory level labor can make use of the program and participants have been and are employed in a wide variety of maintenance, office support and recreation program activities. The County Administrator’s Office provides central coordination for the Program, managing the budget, soliciting and collecting applications, and forwarding them on to interested departments or offices.

An internship component has also been added to the program to give college age youth an opportunity to gain work experience in a professional setting.

You know, the last time I looked there were plenty of jobs out there during the summer for teens. Meanwhile, we’re paying in the tune of $156,837 budgeted to this operation over the last four fiscal years.

“Our tax base won’t allow 24-hour [fire/EMS] coverage” or a public safety building, but it does allow for a “summer employment program”?

With that money wasted every year, we could have afforded an additional deputy or an additional firefighter or medic. Heck, that’s the second fire/EMS or sheriff’s deputy position I’ve found so far!