What a country!

Only in a wonderful country like the USA can a Puerto Rican heritage Congressman from an obviously gerrymandered Chicago district protest a law enacted in Arizona by fellow citizens, and do his protest from Washington, D.C. Here is a link to the map. Make up your own mind.

http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/il04_109.gif

And he calls himself a Latino, which is another USA federal government term to make census taking more practical. Yet many know things like Mexicans really don’t like Guatemalans, yet all are Latinos in the USA terminology.

To conclude, I live in what I think is a pretty good county in rural Tennessee. Less this lead-in seem depreciating; well if you have a heart related problem, then this is also an oasis in the desert. You go figure it out.

Now here is what we “rural” people pay our local elected persons to do “our” business. And of course, this money comes from the local taxpayers. Now just what the health and retirement benefits are, I just don’t know right now.

What are we paying them for their services? What are their duties?

Most all of the salaries are set by formulas dictated by state law and are based on population data for our area. According to public record, here are the salaries for the offices up for election on Tuesday's ballot:

County Executive, $84,668. The holder of this office is the chief financial and administrative officer for the county and is responsible for helping develop the county budget and for oversight of the budget.

Road Supervisor, $79,436. The holder of this office runs the county's Highway Department and is in charge of road and bridge construction and maintenance.

Trustee, $72,214. The county trustee is the treasurer for county government and is responsible for collecting property taxes and other fees and revenue, disbursing the funds and investing idle county funds.

County Clerk, $72,214. The county clerk heads the office that handles motor vehicle titling, registration, noting of liens, issue of marriage licenses and county business licenses, collection of business taxes and keeping of records and minutes of the County Commission and the County Beer Board.

Circuit Court Clerk, $72,214. The holder of this office runs the clerical system for General Sessions, Criminal Court, and Juvenile Court, issuing warrants, summons, citations and keeping records of court cases.

Register of Deeds, $72,214. This office holder heads the office that handles the recording of property deeds and other legal documents.

Sheriff, $79,436. This office holder heads the countywide law enforcement agency which investigates crimes and accidents, patrols roads, provides security at the Justice Center and at various public events, provides resource officers in public schools, and runs the county jail.

County Commissioner, $400 per month. The county commission is the county legislative body and consists of 24 members, two from each of 12 county districts. Among the duties of the commissioners are setting the property tax rate, development and approval of the county budget and generally determining how county funds are spent.

District Attorney, $136,392. The DA is the chief criminal prosecutor in Putnam and six other area counties in the 13th Judicial District.

Circuit Court Judge, $154,320. A Circuit Court judge presides over courts of general jurisdiction, hearing civil and criminal cases and appeals of decisions from lower courts. This judge serves Putnam and six other area counties in the 13th Judicial District.