A worker unloads books at the new Mechanicsburg Library on North Walnut Street Monday. The new library will open Dec. 26. Bill Smith Few speak out on 5 percent raises About 10 citizens showed up Monday for a three-hour public hearing on county executives' proposed salary hikes. Cumberland County commissioners want to grant themselves and two elected row officers 5 percent annual pay hikes covering 2001 through 2004.
State law blocks commissioners from approving a pay increase for the current term of office.
Similar votes in 1993 and 1987 have led to an unbroken string of annual 5 percent raises since 1990. Several residents Tuesday asked that future pay raises be tied to inflation as set by the Consumer Price Index. Others said the annual increase should be less than 5 percent since few in the private sector have enjoyed yearly pay hikes exceeding inflation since 1990. What a soggy year. So far Shippensburg has gotten more than 60 inches of precipitation, making 1996 the wettest year on record.